‘U.S. Seeking to Seal Off Iraqi-Syrian Border’

Monitor: Syria Beefs Up Forces in Dayr al-Zawr

Date: 14 August 2023 - 21:42

News ID: ۱۱۸۲۳۷

DAMASCUS (Xinhua) – Syria is beefing up its forces in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, where its troops were recently ambushed by Daesh terrorists, a war monitor reported.
The Syrian army brought in reinforcements for its 17th and 18th divisions stationed in al-Mayadeen City in the eastern countryside of Dayr al-Zawr after the Daesh terrorists attacked its bus there and killed 35 Syrian soldiers early on Friday, said the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In a statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry viewed the attack as a part of the ongoing American campaign against Syria’s sovereignty and independence, accusing the United States of supporting Daesh to destabilize Syria.
The UK-based watchdog group also noted that the military reinforcement is a response to the increasing tension between the U.S. forces and resistance fighters in the area, as several reports suggested an impending military confrontation between the two sides.
On Aug. 10, a powerful explosion hit an arms depot of the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in the Shaddadi area in Hasakah province, home to main U.S. military bases in northeastern Syria, according to a report by Russia’s Sputnik TV.
In addition, unidentified warplanes reportedly hovered over al-Mayadeen for a span of two hours on Sunday, according to the observatory.
On the same day, powerful explosions were heard near the capital Damascus, which the observatory said attacked an arms depot.
It believed the explosions were the results of an aggression by the Zionist regime, while local media reported that investigations have been initiated to determine the nature of the incident.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has long been monitoring tensions between the U.S. forces and resistance fighters, said the U.S. is planning a military operation to close a vast swath of the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Syria’s al-Watan daily newspaper also, citing an unnamed Syrian security source, reported that American troops at Ain al-Asad Air Base are planning to close the border,
So far, the report said, they have provided no specific reason for their schemes.
It added that the move comes as the U.S. military is dispatching fresh convoys of trucks carrying arms and logistic supplies to Syria’s oil-rich northeastern province of Hasakah from northern and western Iraq.
Despite the stable security situation along the border and the absence of possible terrorist threats, it remains unknown why American forces are beefing up their presence and expanding reconnaissance activities both in the western regions of Iraq and areas deep inside Syria, according to the report.