DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out a raid against “Daesh officials” in eastern Syria, where Washington illegally maintains occupation forces.
The forces “conducted a successful helicopter raid in eastern Syria at 2:57 am (2357 GMT)... killing two Daesh officials,” CENTCOM said in a statement on Sunday, using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group and without providing a more specific location, AFP reported.
The U.S. military raid was a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country.
The CENTCOM statement identified one of those killed as “Anas,” a Daesh “Syria province official” who was involved in “plotting and facilitation operations in eastern Syria.”
CENTCOM called it a “unilateral operation,” adding that “initial assessments indicate no civilians were killed or injured.”
The U.S. troops have been actively involved in Syria under the guise of fighting the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh.
Washington has extended the troops’ presence in Syria since 2017, although, the Arab country and its allies defeated the terror outfit that year.
The U.S. military has illegitimately maintained at least 800 troops in Syria east of the Euphrates River since 2017, tasking its troops with controlling Syrian energy fields and blocking Damascus from regaining control of its internationally recognized borders.
In addition to plundering Syria’s energy and agricultural resources, Washington and its European allies have further imposed a crushing sanctions regime against the country, aimed at crippling its economy by blocking the import of all sorts of goods, including medicines and medical equipment.
Prior to the 2011 foreign-backed terrorist campaign unleashed in the country by the U.S. and its European and regional allies in their bids to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria enjoyed modest self-sufficiency in both food and energy.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump had conceded on several occasions that American military forces were deployed to Syria because of the country’s oil wealth.
On September 21, China called on the United States to stop looting Syria’s national resources and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin further underlined that Washington has a duty to investigate robberies committed by its occupying military forces, as well as to compensate for the damages caused.