DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – A military base in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah used by American troops has been reportedly hit by a series of heavy explosions.
Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency, citing local sources, reported on Wednesday that sounds of several loud blasts had been heard in the northern and western suburbs of the oil-rich town of al-Shaddadi, where one of the largest American bases in Hasakah Province is located.
Helicopters belonging to American forces flew over the skies of the area as the explosions took place, while U.S. troops fired a flare gun into the air, Sputnik said.
The Russian news agency further said that there were reports of a rocket attack on the American base, adding that two U.S. military convoys, carrying military equipment and armored vehicles, had been sent to the base prior to the attack.
The U.S. base in al-Shaddadi was also targeted with two missiles several months ago.
Meanwhile, the Arabic-language al-Maloumeh news website quoted an Iraqi security source as saying that American forces had sent military equipment from Ain al-Asad Air Base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar to a U.S. military base near the al-Walid crossing between Syria and Iraq.
The U.S. 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 U.S. president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in Syria for its oil.