DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – A military facility occupied by U.S. occupation forces in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah has come under a rocket attack from nearby areas, as Washington continues to plunder natural resources of the energy-rich regions of the war-ravaged Arab country.
The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees American troops in the Middle East, asserted in a short statement that the 107mm rocket, launched at around 10:12 p.m. local time (1912 GMT) on Saturday, failed to impact anything inside the Rumalyn Landing Zone.
It added that “Additional rockets were found at the launch site,” further claiming that the projectile did not cause any injuries or damage.
The development came hours after the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates demanded the immediate withdrawal of U.S. occupation troops from the war-ravaged Arab country.
The ministry said in a statement that presence of American troops in Syria was illegal, and called for an end to Washington’s support to Kurdish-led militants affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it said served the U.S. interests in Syria.
The statement went on to condemn the looting of Syrian crude oil by U.S. troops, saying that, “The continuation of U.S. despicable policy of stealing Syrian oil across the Syrian-Iraqi border and transporting it to northern Iraq represents piracy and an attempt to return to the outdated colonial era.”
It further said that the U.S. practices run counter to international law and UN charters, demanding the UN Security Council to censure the act.
The ministry also said Syria reserves the right to get compensation from the United States for the losses it has caused and the oil it plundered.
The U.S. military has for long stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of the Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country’s natural resources. Former US president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
On Saturday, Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing local sources in al-Ya’rubiyah town, reported that a convoy of 50 tankers, laden with oil from the energy-rich Jazira region, left Syria through the illegal Mahmoudiya border crossing on Friday, and headed towards Iraqi territories.
SANA noted that U.S. troops have intensified their theft of Syrian crude oil over the past few weeks with the help of U.S.-sponsored and Kurdish-led militants affiliated with the SDF.