US Tankers Smuggle Crude Oil from Syria to Iraq: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US military has used its tankers to smuggle crude oil from Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province to western Iraq, a report said.
Local sources in al-Yarubiya area said 35 US military tankers carrying fuel crossed al-Yarubiya border crossing northeast of Hasakah on Friday evening, heading from Syria to Iraq, SANA reported.
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 US 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 (ISIL or ISIS), 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.