Commander of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Mohammed Farid al-Qassem sad the strikes against the al-Tanf base on the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border are aimed at sparking “side conflicts”. The FSA is deployed at the al-Tanf alongside troops from the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition. The base occasionally comes under drone attacks that are blamed on pro-Iran factions. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Qassem said his unit is the only one deployed in the 55-km region, which is a security belt or buffer zone that the American set up around al-Tanf. He accused militias loyal to Iran of carrying out attacks against the base, but acknowledged that there was no evidence to back his claim. The attacks are aimed at “dragging the region into side conflicts that do not help the Syrian people,” he added. Such conflicts will make the area an open arena to carry out “destructive agendas.” The area, he explained, is strategic because it is where the Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian borders meet. Moreover, Qassem stressed that the FSA is a “Syrian force that is opposed to the regime. The interference of the regime’s allies in the Syrian conflict forced the FSA to build international alliances that would meet their aspirations to build a new Syria.” “We are open to working with all Syrian parties that want to become part of an alliance or share united Syrian agenda against the regime and ISIS,” he added. On the drugs and arms smuggling operations taking place across the Syrian-Jordanian border, Qassem said the FSA and the international coalition have heavily deployed patrols along the border with Syria, Iraq and Jordan to crack down on the illicit operations. The patrols have helped reduce the smuggling, he added, saying this was a priority for the forces in the area. Qassem said the forces have “reached very positive results in combating smuggling in the past four months”. The latest drug smuggling operation was busted “just days ago.”