The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, APA reports.
The U.S. plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which have not previously been reported, would be a sign of Syria's strategic realignment with the U.S. following the fall last year of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
The base sits at the gateway to parts of southern Syria that are expected to make up a demilitarised zone as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. That deal is being mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
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Reuters spoke to six sources familiar with preparations at the base, including two Western officials and a Syrian defence official, who confirmed the U.S. was planning to use the base to help monitor a potential Israel-Syria agreement.
The Pentagon and Syrian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plan. The Syrian presidency and defence ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the plan sent via the Syrian information ministry.
A U.S. administration official said the U.S. was "constantly evaluating our necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat ISIS (Islamic State) and (we) do not comment on locations or possible locations of (where) forces operate."
The official requested that the name and location of the base be removed for operational security reasons. Reuters has agreed to not reveal the exact location.
A Western military official said the Pentagon had accelerated its plans over the last two months with several reconnaissance missions to the base. Those missions concluded the base's long runway was ready for immediate use.
Two Syrian military sources said the technical talks have been focused on the use of the base for logistics, surveillance, refueling and humanitarian operations, while Syria would retain full sovereignty over the facility.
A Syrian defence official said the U.S. had flown to the base in military C-130 transport aircraft to make sure the runway was usable. A security guard at one of the base's entrances told Reuters that American aircraft were landing there as part of "tests".
It was not immediately clear when U.S. military personnel would be dispatched to the base.
