The base has reportedly been under construction since early 2018.[1] Fox News reported on 4 September 2019 that a "classified Iranian project", the Imam Ali military base, was being constructed near Abu Kamal,[2] which was confirmed by satellite images. The project was approved by the top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian Quds Force.[3]
On 9 September 2019, reports emerged that "Iranian" or "Iranian-backed militias" had been targeted in airstrikes, which appeared to be similar to a June 2018 airstrike that targeted a Kata'ib Hezbollah base at a similar location. Satellite imagery taken by ImageSat International in late 2019 suggests a tunnel system is being built, which Western intelligence sources believe will hold missiles.[4]
The site has been struck multiple times by the Israeli Air Force after which the construction of tunnels was noticed to have accelerated,[1] and would soon be operational, as of November 2019.[5]
The site was struck again on 25 February 2021[6] by the United States military in retaliation for multiple rocket attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq ten days earlier,[7] and became the first known offensive military operation carried out under U.S. president Joe Biden.[8][9] On 28 June 2021, another airstrike targeted the base, which left at least nine Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters dead and many others injured, according to SOHR.[10]
All Iranian military bases in Syria have been abandoned as IRGC withdrew its fighters from Syria in December 2024 amid the fall of the Assad regime.[11]
