Several rockets have reportedly targeted a military facility housing US occupation forces in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Local sources, who preferred not to be named, told the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency that four successive explosions were heard on Monday evening after the projectiles slammed into base at the US-occupied al-Omar oil field.
The sources added that plumes of thick black smoke could be seen rising from the site.
They noted that a large number of US military aircraft patrolled the skies over the base after the rocket attack. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault.
US forces bring in military reinforcement to bases in NE Syria
The development came as American troops brought in new military reinforcements to their bases in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, official news agency SANA reported.
US occupation forces on Monday moved military equipment, battle tanks and armored vehicles from their base at the Kharab al-Jir military airport to the town of Rmelan, before transferring them to bases south of the province.
Local sources, requesting anonymity, said militants affiliated with the US-backed and so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) blocked roads in the towns of al-Muabbada and Rmelan, which sit east of Qamishli city, and shuttered shops to secure the passage of US occupation forces.
The US military has stationed forces and equipment in eastern and northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, says the unlawful deployment is meant to plunder the country’s resources.
Former US president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in Syria for its oil.
After failing to oust the Syrian government with the help of its proxies and direct involvement in the conflict, the US government has now stepped up its economic war on the Arab country.
Earlier this month, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov lashed out at the illegal presence of American forces in Syria, stating that their deployment hinders the fight against Takfiri terrorist groups and contributes to their growth across the war-ravaged Arab country.
“Illegal armed groups have not abandoned their plans of territorial expansion. The illegal military presence of the United States and a number of other countries on Syrian soil contributes to this, and makes the fight against terrorists less effective,” Gerasimov said during a briefing with military attaches of foreign states in Moscow on December 9.
He noted that Russian forces are helping Syrian government troops purge remaining areas of terrorists, facilitate return of internally displaced people, restore civil services and preserve the country’s territorial integrity.