Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force)
Late on December 9, a salvo of rockets targeted a key air base located right next to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where United States troops could soon be deployed, in the second such attack in recent weeks.
Three rockets were fired at Mezzeh Air Base – located just under four kilometers away from the People’s Palace to the southwest of Damascus – causing no casualties or damage, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported, adding later that the launchers used in the attack were found by security forces in a nearby area.
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
The air base came to first public attention on November 6, when a report by Reuters revealed U.S. plans to establish military presence there.
While the report didn’t name the air base, per say, it said that a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft made a test landing there. An MC-130-series special-mission aircraft of the U.S. Air Force was spotted landing at the base then taking off within minutes earlier on October 2.
Mazzeh was heavily damaged by a series of intense Israeli strikes following the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad last year. Its 2,517 meter-long runway somehow survived, however.
On November 15, a rocket attack hit the Mazzeh 86 neighborhood right next to the air base, wounding at least one person. The base was likely the real target.
Just a few days later, specifically on November 21, a report by Sky News Arabia confirmed that the air base the U.S. is planning to take over near Damascus was indeed Mazzeh. The report said that the air base is meant to support a “security agreement that Washington is working to conclude between Syria and Israel.”
Syria’s Islamist-led Interim Government has grown closer to the U.S. in recent months, going as far as joining the anti-ISIS coalition led by Washington.
The country’s accession to the coalition came after a landmark meeting on November 10 between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by the United Nations, at the White House.
During the meeting, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanctions. A compete revocation of the sanctions is expected soon with the approval of the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. Central Command announced on November 30 that its forces located and destroyed more than 15 sites containing ISIS weapons caches in southern Syria in cooperation with government forces, in the first such joint operation between the two sides.
It is very possible that recent rocket attacks on Mezzeh were orchestrated by ISIS. However, the government is yet to officially accuse the terrorist group.
Another possible scenario is that radical Islamist elements from the government itself carried out these attacks as a way to protest growing ties with the U.S. and the recent accession to the coalition. Despite promoting the removal of sanctions as worthy the price for cooperating with Washington, Sharaa has been facing more internal criticism for this push.
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