Report: US Military Convoys Come Under Rocket-Propelled Grenade, Bomb Attacks in Eastern Syria - FARS

(FNA)- US military forces have reportedly been targeted in two separate rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and bomb attacks in Syria’s Eastern province of Deir Ezzur, amid seething public resentment over the presence of the occupation troops in the region.

The Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency, citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that a group of unidentified assailants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a US military convoy as it was passing through the town of al-Busayrah in the Eastern flank of the province early on Thursday.

There were no immediate reports about casualties among American troops or the extent of damage inflicted.

The sources added that the attack triggered fierce exchange of gunfire, with scores of US-sponsored and Kurdish-led militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sustaining injuries in the process.

They were taken to nearby field hospitals to receive medical treatment.

The sources highlighted that US-backed SDF militants cordoned off the area afterwards, and prevented entry and exit of people. Several US military helicopters could also be seen hovering overhead.

The sources went on to say that American forces rappelled down copters into the village of al-Kassar near the town of al-Busayrah, and arrested the imam of al-Safa Mosque in the town, Abdul Majeed al-Ghannam, along with his entire family.

US troops also arrested Sheikh Abu Bilal, the imam of al-Ta’as Mosque, which lies at the entrance of Busayrah.

Hours before the Busayrah assault, unidentified people had detonated an explosive device when a US military convoy was heading towards al-Omar oil field near the town of al-Shuhayl in the Eastern countryside of Deir Ezzur, but there were no injuries reported.

American troops and military equipment have been stationed in Northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon alleging that the troops deployment is meant to protect the oilfields in the area against sporadic Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) attacks and prevent the energy reserves  from falling into the hands of the Takfiri terrorists.

Back on March 18, Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Bassam Tomeh told state-run and Arabic-language al-Ikhbariyah Syria television news that the oil reserves in the war-stricken Arab country are being looted by the US military and its allied Takfiri terrorist groups.

He highlighted that Washington is in control of 90 percent of crude reserves in oil-rich Northeastern Syria.

Former President Donald Trump had openly admitted on several occasions that oil was the main reason which kept US troops in Syria.

The US confirmed its looting of Syrian oil during a Senate hearing exchange between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in late July last year.

Pompeo confirmed for the first time during his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 30, 2020 that an American oil company would start its activities in northeastern Syria, which is controlled by militants from the SDF.

The Syrian government strongly condemned the agreement, saying the deal was sealed to plunder the country’s natural resources, including oil and gas, with the support of Trump’s administration.