Unidentified forces have attacked and destroyed a US military vehicle and injured several troops at the junction outside the village of Rouished, Al-Hasakah governorate, the Syrian Arab News Agency has reported, citing local civilian sources.
The sources said the vehicle, believed to be a military Hummer, was carrying both US troops and Syrian Democratic Forces militia, the predominantly Kurdish militia group which is in de facto control of much of northeast Syria.
After being attacked, the Hummer was said to have flipped on its side, causing damage to the vehicle and injuring its occupants. Sources didn’t clarify what happened to the US and SDF forces following the ambush.
Photos said to have been taken at the scene following the attack have appeared online. They have not been authenticated.
Unidentified persons attacked a #US forces vehicle at the junction of Ruwaished village, southern #Hasaka.
— Nadia Abid (@NadiaAbidd) April 20, 2020
That resulted in the destruction of the vehicle and the injury of several soldiers.
I hope one day they'll finally understand they don't belong in #Syria. pic.twitter.com/nL7fPime1H
The Pentagon has yet to comment on the veracity of the report.
This is the second incident of this kind to be reported this month. On April 6, Syrian media reported that a joint convoy of US and local forces was ambushed by unidentified militants near the village of As-Sur in Deir ez-Zor, killing one US service member and two militiamen.
Tensions continue to smolder in Al-Hasakah governorate between local Arabs, Kurds, the Syrian military and US occupation forces, with locals repeatedly confronting and intercepting US convoys to try to prevent them from traveling freely through their communities in recent months. Most of these incidents have not escalated into violence, but occasionally US and Syrian troops exchange fire. The region is also home to the remnants of Daesh (ISIS)*, who have taken advantage of the chaos amid competing claims for control of the area.
The US has quietly build up its military presence in northeastern Syria in recent months, dispatching dozens of truckloads of military and logistical equipment to the country from neighbouring Iraq to establish control of the region’s oil and gas fields in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s instructions to “keep the oil.”
Syria has repeatedly demanded that all uninvited occupying forces, including the US and Turkish troops and their proxies, vacate the area immediately and return control of occupied area back to Damascus, its rightful owner under international law.
* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
