New video footage in Syria is alleged to show a secret Iranian base that was established almost seven years ago in Syria near the Iraqi border.
The base was abandoned when the Assad regime fell, and Iranian-backed groups fled to Iraq. For years, the base was the subject of interest because it had an entrance to a large underground tunnel and was likely being used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to transfer weapons via Syria to Hezbollah.
The base also supplies local Iranian-backed militia groups.
The new video could not be confirmed, but it shows massive underground tunnels large enough for a car to drive through and a desert area that appears similar to that of the former base.
In September, 2019, Fox News reported that “Iran has established a new military base in Syria and has plans to house thousands of troops at the location, according to multiple Western intelligence sources.”
The base was called the Imam Ali compound. The FoxNews report noted that “analysts at Image Sat International (ISI) who reviewed the images say that precision-guided missiles could be housed at five different newly constructed buildings that are surrounded by large dirt mounds.
The images also show, in the northwest part of the base, 10 additional storehouses with less external protection, as well as new buildings and missile storage structures.”
Now, the X account Qalaat al Mudiq has posted a video of the alleged site, around six and a half years after it was first reported. “Iranians and their affiliated groups, including the Fatemiyoun Brigade, built an impressive underground network on the border with Iraq,” the account noted.
“This video shows tunnels large enough to accommodate vehicles. This network served as a key weapons-smuggling route for #IRGC-affiliated groups and Hezbollah, concealed from aerial surveillance,” Qalaat al Mudiq added. “Footage from Imam Ali base, near Abukemal, 3–4 km from the Iraqi border.”
What do we know about the base?
"The classified Iranian project, called the Imam Ali compound, was approved by top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian al-Quds Forces. Using a civilian satellite company, Fox News verified the information and obtained images that show a base being constructed on the Syria-Iraq border,” Fox News had said back in September, 2019.
Subsequent images published by Fox News showed Iran was continuing construction on the base. In December of 2019, another report said the base was being used to store missiles.
A fourth report, also at Fox News, in May 2020, showed a new satellite image revealing that the Iranians had built a large tunnel entrance. “Intelligence analysis conducted by Image Sat International (ISI), a civilian satellite company, indicates the tunnel is fit to be used for the storage of vehicles carrying advanced weapons systems. This conclusion was drawn from examining similar tunnels dug over the past nine months at the same complex. One such tunnel, two miles away, was bombed in March, forcing the Iranians to abruptly stop construction.”
The base was largely forgotten after 2020, and it was unclear if more construction took place. The area near Albukamal, which is a border town in Syria with Iraq, was targeted with airstrikes several times. In 2020, Fox News reported airstrikes on the area.
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