Late in the day Tuesday (local time) the US military carried out what’s being described as a “preemptive strike” against rocket sites in eastern Syria that “posed a threat” – according to a US coalition official statement.
“The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coalition saw several launch sites near the Green Village in Syria,” Reuters reports, referencing an American base in Deir Ezzor province. “The official did not specify from which country the coalition carried out the strike.”
The base that was being “threatened” is in Syria oil-rich eastern region, which for years American forces have occupied in support of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). In the same area lies the country’s largest oil facility, al-Omar oil field, as well as Conoco gas field – both under US-SDF control, something Damascus and Moscow have long condemned as an illegal occupation presence intent on blocking Syria from its own vital energy resources.
Over the past year the US base has seen occasional attacks, which is typically blamed by the Pentagon on “pro-Iran” militias, or also possibly Syrian national forces.
In this case too, at least one regional correspondent has been told by a coalition official that “Iranian militias” were targeted in the new strikes.
Most recently, in the past few months, the Pentagon has more often had to worry about its outposts near the Syria-Iraq border, with al-Tanf base in particular coming under recent drone and mortar attack.
Such border region incidents are suspected as originating from either side of the border – with the Iraqi side seeing Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces recently stepping up small drone attacks.
On Monday in Iraq, US forces came under drone attack at Camp Victory near the Baghdad airport. US forces in the region are on edge this week as large anti-American demonstrations are being held in major cities to mark the second anniversary of the killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.
And then on Tuesday drones threatened Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq, where US troops are stationed – the same base hit by Iranian cruise missiles two years ago, days after the Jan.3, 2020 assassination by drone of Soleimani.
Footage from Ain Al-Assad Airbase, #Iraq from the CRAM engagement of the two suspected Samad drones downed during the early hours of this morning. pic.twitter.com/8xGo7BYVO3
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) January 4, 2022
The above footage captures the base’s anti-air defenses intercepting the drones in real-time.
US occupation smuggles dozens of tankers carrying Syrian oil into Iraq News Desk, reports thecradle.co
A convoy of 128 vehicles belonging to the US occupation was spotted leaving Syria for Iraq through the illegal Al-Walid border crossing on 4 January.
According to Syrian news outlets, the convoy comprised refrigerated trucks, trucks carrying military equipment, armored escorts vehicles, and 60 tankers carrying stolen Syrian oil.
Dozens of similar US convoys have been reported in recent months. On 18 December 2021, nearly one hundred oil tankers were smuggled into northern Iraq through the same illegal crossing.
Damascus has accused the US of using its occupation of the country to loot Syrian oil and agricultural crops.
The US government claims that its troops are in Syria to fight against ISIS, but coincidentally, the majority of its illegal bases are located in oil-producing regions.
US companies with links to Washington have also openly signed oil deals with armed groups fighting against the government of Syria.
In August 2020, a US company, Delta Crescent Energy, signed a deal with the armed groups to develop oil wells and a refinery in areas under the US occupation.
Damascus reacted angrily to this move and accused the US of engaging in ”state piracy.”
A statement by the Syrian foreign ministry read: ”Syria considers this agreement null and void and has no legal effect. And it warns again that such despicable acts express the approach of those client militias, which have accepted being cheap puppets in the hands of the US occupation.”
The theft of the Syrian oil is robbing the Syrian government of the revenue badly needed for the provision of services to the citizens.
The revenue is also needed to repair the damage caused by the decade-long conflict between the government and western-backed armed groups that have been trying to overthrow the government since 2011.
The Syrian people have also been forced to rely on imported oil due to the shortage caused by the US theft of their national resource.
