US and allied fighters repelled a coordinated ISIS attack on a base in Syria, using coalition air support to fight back dozens of fighters. On April 8, ISIS fighters converged on the An Tank garrison, using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, suicide vests, and small arms fire. Syrian Arab Coalition fighters, along with US advisers, fought back, US Central Command spokesman Army Col. John Thomas said Monday. Three allied fighters were killed in the operation. US aircraft provided close air support and medevac following the attack, Thomas said. US forces were assigned to the garrison to help Syrian Arab Coalition fighters clear ISIS from the Hamad Desert and “have been instrumental in countering the ISIS threat in southern Syria and maintaining security along the Syria-Jordan border,” Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
