DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – The U.S. forces established a third military base in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah on Saturday, a war monitor reported.
The new military base was set up in the village of Naqara, 3 km southwest of the city of Qamishli in Hasakah province, said the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
All the three U.S. bases in Hasakah were located in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, the Britain-based watchdog added.
The U.S. forces have established multiple military bases in Syria since entering the war-torn country in 2014, with its largest one in the al-Omar oil field in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
The Syrian government has repeatedly urged the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from the country, referring to them as occupation forces that entered Syria without its consent.
In another development in the country, Turkish military forces and their allied militants reportedly renewed shelling on a Kurdish-controlled town in Syria’s northern province of Raqqah in a bid to advance in that strategic area, as Ankara is purportedly preparing for a new cross-border offensive in the Arab country.
Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the shelling targeted the town of Ayn Issa and the M4 international highway, which are situated near the border with Turkey.
The sources added that the strikes caused material damage to a number of houses and properties in the targeted areas, and left local people in a state of panic as a result of the attack.
The town of Ayn Issa has a strategic significance as it serves as a hub connecting Aleppo and Hasakah provinces through the M4 highway. It’s also connected with the Tal Abyad city on the Syrian-Turkish border.
Last week, Turkish military forces and their allied militants shelled the villages of Abu Surra, al-Dibs and the M4 international highway in the same Syrian province.
Also on Friday, the electrical substation in Tal Tamr town of Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah went out of service after Turkish forces and their mercenaries targeted the 66 kV line feeding the substation.
The attack led to a power outage in the center of Tal Tamr and its countryside.
SANA reported that Turkish forces also struck the villages of Tawila, Tal Tawil and al-Abush, causing material damage in those areas.