US Military Tankers Smuggle Oil from Syria to Iraq: Sources
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US military has dispatched dozens of tankers the Jazira Region of the northeastern province of Hasakah to smuggle the Arab country’s crude oil, sources said.
Local sources, requesting not to be named, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that a convoy of 30 tankers rumbled through al-Walid crossing border crossing on Saturday evening, and headed toward the Iraqi territory after being filled with crude oil.
Since late October 2019, the United States has been redeploying troops to the oil fields controlled by Kurdish forces in eastern Syria, in a reversal of President Donald Trump’s earlier order to withdraw all troops there.
The Pentagon alleges that the move aims to “protect” the fields and facilities from possible attacks by Daesh, ignoring the fact that Trump had earlier suggested that Washington sought economic interests in controlling the oil fields.
Syria, which has not authorized the presence of the US military in its territory, says Washington is “plundering” the country’s oil.
The presence of US forces in eastern Syria has particularly irked the civilians, and local residents have on several occasions stopped American military convoys entering the region.
