The Drive:

Pictures have appeared on social media that reportedly show trucks carrying Avenger short-range air defense systems on a highway between the Iraqi city of Ramadi and the Syrian border. The Avenger is primarily designed to engage low-flying manned fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, but can also be employed against drones. Two weeks ago, the top U.S. general overseeing operations in the Middle East said that the ever-growing threat posed by small unmanned aircraft was “the most concerning tactical development” since improvised explosive devices became the weapon of choice for militants and terrorists in the region.

The pictures first began to circulate on social media on Feb. 21, 2021, but it is unclear when or where exactly they were taken. It’s also not clear, if their reported location is accurate, whether these vehicles were heading to or from the Syrian border. Ramadi is situated at the nexus of two major highways in western Iraq that lead to Syria.

It is possible that these air defense systems could be headed toward forward bases that U.S. and other coalition forces operate out of in cooperation with local, predominantly Kurdish groups, in Syria’s northeastern Deir ez-Zor governorate. The convoy could also be moving in the direction of the highly strategic U.S. garrison at At Tanf, situated in Syria further to the south, near the Iraqi and Jordanian borders. As of the beginning of this month, there were approximately 900 American troops spread across these various Syrian outposts, according to the Pentagon…

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