Press TV - Syria isreportedly moving troops to a desert regionnear its border with Iraq and Jordan amid reports that US and allied forcesare consolidating positions in the area for a possible ground invasion.
Militant sources and commanderssaid Monday their intelligence showed that hundreds of Syriantroops and their allieswith tanks and heavy equipment had moved in the last few days to the town of Saba'a Biyar.
The remote town near the strategic Damascus-Baghdad highwaywas captured by the army last week as they seekto prevent areas left by Takfiri terroristsfrom fallinginto the hands of Western-backed FSA militants.
"They have sent big reinforcements from artillery, to tanksand armored vehicles," FSA spokesman for the so-called Southern Front Issam al-Reis told Reuters.
USspecial forces operate and train FSA militants atthe Tanf base nearthe Iraqi border in the area which isknown as the SyrianBadia, meaning desert in Arabic.
The base is being expanded to become a launching pad foroperations in the province of Dayr al-Zawrthat straddles Iraq, Reuters cited regionalintelligence sources as saying.
Syrian media on Sunday said government forces havemade fresh gains against terrorists in Dayr al-Zawr.
Army units clashed with terrorist groups affiliated with Daesh in the province, leaving a number of terrorists killed and their fortifications and hideouts destroyed.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"]
Militants from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) are seen near the town of Qabasin near Syrias second city of Aleppo, January 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]Last week, about 7,400 troops began conducting military exercises known as Exercise Eager Lion in Jordan, in whatwas described as the largest and most complex of their kindconducted jointly with the US.
The exercises prompted concerns that Washington and its allies were attempting to stage a major intervention to undermine recent gains made by the Syrian military against Daesh terrorists.
As the Syrian military began a new eastward push to drive out Daeshfrom Dawr al-Zawr, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem warned Jordan against getting involved without Syria's permission.
"If the Jordanian forces entered without coordination with the Syrian government they will be considered as hostile forces," Muallem said.
In addition to the large USpresence on the Jordanian side of the border, USspecial forces were also spotted inside Syria, training a group of militants called Mughawir al-Thowra, the Newsweek magazine reported.
