UAE–led intervention in Syria (Trouble: Middle East, Map Game)

The United Arab Emirates and a coalition of GCC countries intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2018 to help fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups. The general staff of the Emirates Defense Forces officially named it Operation Syrian Storm.

Prelude

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Preparations
In 2018, with ISIS on the rise in Syria, the United Arab Emirates had a change in policy and decided to instead support the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad rather than the rebels. As part of their attempts to increase their influence over the Gulf Cooperation Council and rival Saudi Arabia, the UAE decided to lead its own intervention independently of the Saudis. They got the rest of the GCC (with the exception of the Saudis) to go along with the plan, with Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman pledging troops in support of the operation. After Jordan and Iraq granted military access to their territories, the UAE deployed 10,000 ground troops and 45 aircraft to strike at ISIS targets in Syria, crossing the Iraqi and Jordanian borders. Other GCC states also contributed an unknown number of forces to this operation.