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US arms allied Takfiri militants in Syria’s al-Tanf region with HIMARS multiple rocket launchers: Report

This file picture shows the so-called Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists training in the strategic al-Tanf region of southeastern Syria, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan. (Photo via Twitter)

The US military has reportedly armed allied Takfiri terrorists in southeastern Syria with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a multiple rocket launcher, which the extremists have used in an apparent threatening message to Russian forces.

The so-called Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists have published a picture, showing the launch of HIMARS units during military exercises in the strategic al-Tanf region, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan.

The militant group said that the launch showed its members' skills and capability to defend themselves against any potential attack, apparently referring to the Russian raid that targeted them in the al-Tanf region last month.

These combo pictures show HIMARS units being launched during military exercises by the so-called Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in the strategic al-Tanf region of southeastern Syria, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan. (Photo via Twitter)

The development comes as anti-Damascus Takfiri militants have conducted joint military exercises with American forces in the al-Tanf region over the past few days, and the drills purportedly included sniper training exercises, direct ground combat, strike operations with various types of missiles and rockets, in addition to training courses on raising awareness and drawing up military plans.

The M142 HIMARS system is a modernized, lighter and more agile wheel-mounted version of the track-mounted M270 MLRS developed in the 1970s for US and allied forces.

HIMARS units carry one preloaded pod of six 227mm guided missiles (the M270 carries two pods), or one large pod loaded with an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) tactical missile.

With a small crew, the HIMARS can remove a spent pod and load a fresh one in minutes, without other vehicles helping.

Back on in June, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that the US-backed Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists were participating in live-fire exercises in an area around the Tanf base, which is known as the 55 km area, under the supervision of the US-led military coalition purportedly formed to fight the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The report added that the activities were ongoing amid reports that the US military is trying to increase the presence of Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists and other allied Takfiris, and dispatch them to areas in the northern and eastern parts of Syria which are under the control of the militants from the Kurdish-led and so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Al-Mayadeen went on to note that the chief commander of Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists had visited Saudi Arabia two weeks earlier, and met with a number of officials there.

Groups of the militants have lately arrived in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, and been deployed in the al-Zohour neighborhood of Hasakah city as well as a village in the southern flank of the province.

Al-Mayadeen added that the US-led coalition is seeking to expand the presence of Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in the areas controlled by the SDF in an attempt to ensure that Syrian government forces would not wrest control over oil fields in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr if SDF forces had to withdraw in the face of any new Turkish offensive.

The report came less than a week after Russia warned American occupation forces that it was going to conduct airstrikes against Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in al-Tanf region after a roadside bomb targeted Russian military forces.

US military tankers smuggle crude oil from Syria’s Hasakah to northern Iraq

Additionally, the US military has reportedly used dozens of tanker trucks to smuggle crude oil from Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, as Washington continues to loot energy resources in the war-ravaged country.

Syria’s official news agency (SANA), citing local sources, reported that a convoy of 35 US military vehicles, including tankers, covered trucks and refrigerators, left Syria through al-Waleed border crossing on Thursday, and headed towards Iraqi territories.

The sources added another 25 US military tankers laden with crude from oil fields in Rmelan and al-Shaddadi districts rumbled through the illegal Mahmoudiya border crossing in al-Ya'rubiyah area.

Three military helicopters belonging to American occupation forces flew overhead as the tankers entered Iraq.

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 terrorists. 

Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country's rich mineral resources.

Former US president Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil.

After failing to oust the Syrian government through militant proxies and direct involvement in the conflict, the US government has stepped up its economic war on the Arab country.

In June 2020, the US enacted the so-called Caesar Act that imposed the toughest sanctions ever on Syria intending to choke off revenue sources for the government.

The sanctions have crippled the war-torn country’s economy by barring foreign companies from doing trade with Damascus. Syria says the real purpose of the measures is to put pressure on Syrians and their livelihoods.


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