Russia declares ISIL operates near U.S base in Syria

Russia made today a new accusation to the United States, of allowing Islamic State to operate “under its nose” in Syria, saying Washington was letting the militant group move about freely in an area abutting a U.S. military base. The allegations, made by Russia’s Defence Ministry, centre on a U.S. military base at Tanf, a strategic Syrian highway border crossing with Iraq in the south of the country. The United States says the Tanf facility is a temporary base used to train partner forces to fight against Islamic State. But Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, said Moscow wanted to know how around 300 Islamic State militants in pickup trucks had passed through the U.S.-controlled area and tried to block the highway between Damascus and Deir al-Zor used to supply Syrian forces.“We issue a warning. All responsibility for sabotaging the peace process will lay exclusively with the American side”, he added.