US Military Convoy Arrives In Oil-Rich Areas In Northeastern Syria - Reports

US Military Convoy Arrives in Oil-Rich Areas in Northeastern Syria - Reports

A US military convoy consisting of 22 military vehicles and two trucks crossed the Syrian-Iraqi border on Wednesday and positioned itself near several oil deposits in northeastern Syria, the Al-Ikhbariya broadcaster reported

DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) A US military convoy consisting of 22 military vehicles and two trucks crossed the Syrian-Iraqi border on Wednesday and positioned itself near several oil deposits in northeastern Syria, the Al-Ikhbariya broadcaster reported.

According to the media, the US troops came from Iraq via the al-Walid border crossing and concentrated near the Auda oil field in the Qahtaniyah region and the Jibsa oil field.

About 90 percent of Syrian oil reserves are concentrated to the east of the Euphrates River, the region that was previously a stronghold and main source of income for Islamic State terrorists (IS, banned in Russia) and is now mainly controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The Anadolu news agency reported on November 1 that the US military was continuing its patrols of the 40-kilometer (24.8-mile) area between the Qahtaniyah region and the Rimelan district of Al-Hasakah city. Later, the Turkish media cited eyewitnesses as saying that the US military had begun to construct two military bases in strategic locations in Syria's oil-rich east.

After the Syrian government and the Kurds combined their efforts in October amid the Turkish offensive, US President Donald Trump, who had earlier withdrawn his country's forces from northern Syria, stated that the US would keep a "small number" of troops in the area to "protect" the oil fields there. He also announced plans to invite large US companies to explore the fields.