DAMASCUS, July 6 The US military in northern Syria has stepped up its exercises, is intensively bringing in new equipment and hardware, and is strengthening its bases with observation towers and air defense systems, a Syrian informed field source said.
«Over the past few days, the US military has increased the intensity of its exercises and increased its activity in general in the territories it occupies in northeastern Syria. It has also strengthened its bases in Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor by equipping them with additional equipment, weapons, and increasing its personnel,» the agency's source said.
The source did not rule out that such a strengthening is connected with Iran's preparation of an attack on Israel after the assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
According to the agency's source, amid increased shelling by Iraqi Shiite fighters, back in July the US military, together with Kurdish paramilitary forces, installed more than 140 observation towers with night vision systems along the entire eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Since July 31, the Kurdish self-defense forces and the US military have been put on high alert, while both ground patrols and helicopter reconnaissance flights have increased.
According to the source, large-scale exercises took place in the first days of August at the base located at the Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor. And on July 23, a military convoy of more than 100 vehicles arrived from Iraq to the north of the SAR. According to the latest data, in addition to ammunition and equipment, four air defense systems and electronic warfare equipment were delivered to the US military bases.
“A group of 25 military personnel with special equipment arrived on a transport plane, accompanied by helicopters, to the Kharab Jir base in the village of Yarubiyah on the border with Iraq. For the first time, the transfer is taking place by air; previously, communication was by land due to the proximity of the base to the Iraqi border. This indicates that the military and equipment were transferred from American bases located in the Persian Gulf countries,” the agency’s interlocutor noted.
According to the latest data from the agency's source, the American command recently reinforced its bases in Syria with fifteen Apache helicopters, which were distributed among bases from Deich ez-Zor to Al-Hasakeh.
Since 2014, under the pretext of fighting the terrorist group ISIS, the American military command and their allies have sent their troops to northern Syria without the approval of official Damascus. To date, 24 Western coalition bases and four command headquarters have been deployed. US military bases in the northeast of the Syrian Arab Republic are regularly subjected to missile strikes and drone attacks by Iraqi paramilitary forces. The last time the American base in the area of the Konniko fields in Deir ez-Zor came under rocket fire was on July 26 and 27.