The US military has retracted its earlier claims that a base it occupies in eastern Syria was targeted by artillery or another type of projectile, now admitting that the blasts earlier this month that injured several soldiers resulted from an inside job.
It is now believed the April 7 attack was carried out by the “deliberate placement of explosive charges” by one or more individuals at an ammunition holding area and shower facility on the base, AP reported on Friday citing a statement issued Thursday by the so-called Operation Inherent Resolve command that oversees illegal US military operations in Syria and Iraq.
The statement further added that the incident remains under investigation but did not offer further details.
Its reference to the “deliberate placement” of explosive charges on the military base, however, suggested the possibility of infiltration and a lapse of base security or even an insider attack, marking a new development in the resistance against the intruding US forces in Syria.
In its original announcement on April 7, the command claimed the base in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr province -- known as Green Village -- received two rounds of “indirect fire” that struck two support buildings, adding that four of its troops suffered “minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries.”
The Green Village is located within areas controlled by the US-sponsored and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and lies north of the Euphrates River.
Back in January, US forces apparently foiled a rocket attack targeting the Green Village base, a day after the US-led coalition said the base was targeted by eight rounds of indirect fire.
The US maintains a force of several hundred soldiers and military hardware 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 foreign-backed terrorist campaign against Damascus, the US government has now stepped up its economic war on the Arab country.
Turkey has also deployed forces in Syria in violation of the country's territorial integrity.
Ankara-backed terror groups were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push militants affiliated with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.
Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means available to the ongoing ground offensive by Turkish forces in the northern part of the Arab country.
Just last week, the invading US military forces and allied SDF militants held a joint military exercise in Syria’s Dayr al-Zawr near the Iraqi border, amid persisting concerns in Baghdad over a possible release of Daesh terrorists from US-run prisons in Syria.
Local media outlets reported that dozens of American occupation soldiers and Kurdish militants participated in the joint drill, noting that the area where the training took place is close to the al-Omar oil field.
The reports added that US troops and their allies brought missile and armored units into play and used various types of ammunition during the exercise.