Al-Tanf

Al-Tanf (Arabic: التَّنْف) is a military base in a part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria, which is used by the Syrian Armed Forces. It is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the al-Walid border crossing in the Syrian Desert. The garrison is located along a critical road known as the M2 Baghdad–Damascus Highway. The surrounding deconfliction zone was located along the Iraq–Syria border and the Jordan–Syria border. The Rukban refugee camp for internally displaced Syrians was located within the deconfliction zone.

A significant United States Armed Forces and allied European presence at the outpost began in early 2016 during the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war in order to train anti-Islamic State fighters of the New Syrian Army armed opposition group, which was dissolved and reemerged as the Revolutionary Commando Army in December 2016. It has served as the headquarters of the Syrian Free Army until June 2025, and then of the 70th Division of the post-Assad Syrian Army, and eventually of the Syrian Desert Security Forces since October 2025. During the civil war, the area was subjected to a number of attacks by Islamic State, Ba'athist Syrian, pro-Iranian, and Russian forces, notably the Tower 22 drone attack on the Jordanian side of the border. The remaining American military personnel departed to Jordan on 11 February 2026.