WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The U.S.
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 citing a statement issued by the so-called Operation Inherent Resolve command that oversees illegal U.S. 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 U.S. troops 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 U.S.-sponsored and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and lies north of the Euphrates River.
Back in January, U.S. forces apparently foiled a rocket attack targeting the Green Village base, a day after the U.S.-led coalition said the base was targeted by eight rounds of indirect fire.
The U.S. maintains a force of several hundred troops 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
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.