US Military Base in Syria Comes Under Intense Rocket Attack: Reports
The United States' largest illegal military station in Syria was attacked with rockets, just hours after another installation containing American personnel was similarly struck.
The strike was reported on Sunday by Syria's al-Watan daily, which identified the target as the US outpost in the al-Omar Oilfield in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zur. According to the publication, multiple rockets were fired at the site during the event.
Following the strike, columns of smoke and fire began to billow from the base, the daily reported, adding that American helicopters were spotted hovering above the outpost in the immediate aftermath.
A correspondent with the Russian Sputnik news agency's Arabic edition reporting from the area described the rocket fire as "the most intense" attack to ever hit the facility.
According to the reporter, the rockets hit vital areas across the outpost, and numerous enormous explosions rang out throughout the site throughout the attack.
The rockets struck sensitive spots across the outpost, the reporter said, noting that several massive explosions had rung out throughout the installation during the incident.
The US forces have been actively involved in Syria under the guise of fighting the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh (ISIL or ISIS).
Washington has extended the troops' presence in Syria since 2017, although, the Arab country and its allies defeated the terror outfit that year.
Numerous reports and regional officials have, meanwhile, pointed to the US’s role in transferring Daesh's elements throughout the region and even airlifting supplies to the group.
The US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh's remnants.
Damascus, however, maintains that the deployment is aimed at plundering the country's rich oil and mineral resources, and says it reserves the right to expel the American troops through appropriate means.
Earlier in the day, rockets were fired against a military facility housing US occupation forces in the Hasakah Province, which neighbors Deir Ez-Zur, Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi anti-terror forces, reported.
The rockets were fired from a nearby area, the channel said, specifying the target as an outpost located in the al-Shaddadi town, which lies on the southern outskirts of Hasakah's provincial capital city.