A convoy of US military vehicles has arrived from Iraq to Al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria, Sham FM broadcaster reported.
According to its post on Facebook, at least 55 vehicles, including tanks and engineer equipment, entered the province from Iraq.
The US-led coalition has been fighting against the Daesh* terrorist organisation in Syria and Iraq since 2014. In Syria, the presence of the coalition has not been authorised either by the country's government or by the UN Security Council's mandate. Last year, Washington announced the fall of the so-called "Islamic State caliphate" but added that it would stay in Syria to prevent the resurgence of the terrorist network. To justify his army's prolonged stay in Syria, US President Donald Trump said that there was the need to "keep the oil" and prevent it from being taken by the remaining terrorists.
Earlier this month, US forces stationed in Syria reportedly started the construction of a new military base in the oil-rich Al-Hasakah province. According to the Turkish Anadolu news agency, which cited its sources, the equipment and materials for the construction arrived from Iraq via the al-Waleed border crossing. The agency suggested that the base was built not to let Russian forces, lawfully deployed in Syria, reach the Rmelan oil field.
*Daesh (also known as IS/ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia