United States deploys new Patriot missile system in Syria
The international coalition led by the United States to fight the Daesh terrorist group in Syria has deployed a Patriot anti-missile system around the Koniko gas plant in the Deiz Ezzor region of northeast Syria, according to information gathered by the Syrian Observer.
The creation of this coalition, which aims to coordinate various military operations to stop Daesh's advance, was announced in December 2015. The Syrian Observer correspondent has assured that the coalition militias have been working around the Koniko plant, annexing an area of approximately 1,000 dunams to the field (10 dunams is equivalent to one hectare). This same analyst has also specified that in addition to expanding their control area they have installed a wire fence around this area.
The web portal Deir Ezzor 24 has published several times information related to the arrival of missile batteries to this base; batteries that, according to local media, are deployed today. Thus, in recent months, the United States has increased its military presence in Syria and has come to control several positions in oil and gas fields in the region.
The deployment of a Patriot anti-missile system has been installed after the US Army set up a new base in the enclave of Deir Ezzor, east of Syria, to reinforce its positions within the war conflict that has been going on in the Middle Eastern country since 2011. One of the bases that the country led by Donald Trump has in Syria is located around a gas field. This type of movement shows the evident interest that this region awakens in the United States.
In this context, at least three American soldiers and five members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been injured in an attack that has taken place between the provinces of Hasaka and Deir Ezzor. The Syrian news agency SANA has indicated that a joint convoy of United States forces and FDS-backed groups has been attacked by unidentified armed men with machine guns and RPG launchers in the rotunda of Rwaished village.
The same media has warned a few hours ago of the arrival of a convoy of American vehicles loaded with logistical material and equipment. The convoy was headed for "illegitimate bases in al-Jarubia, in the northeastern part of Al-Hasaka, in violation of international principles," the agency said. According to the same media, the convoy entered Syria through Iraq by the illegitimate crossing of al-Walid. On the other hand, at least six armoured vehicles have reached Syrian soil through the village of al-Mahmoudya in Iraq and towards the Syrian oil wells of Karchouk.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has published a series of photographs showing a column of international coalition trucks entering through the Al-Walid border crossing. This column, according to SOHR, consists of about 25 trucks, which transported construction materials and logistical equipment, and were mainly heading for the international coalition bases in Al-Hasaka and Deir Ezzor. Previously, on 23 May, SOHR had stated that a coalition convoy had entered Syria, specifically the rural area of Al-Hasaka through the Al-Walid border crossing, and that it consisted of 50 trucks carrying arms, ammunition, military and logistical equipment, as well as prefabricated rooms, according to SOHR.
In this conflict, Russia supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, while Turkey and the United States support the rebels. Since the beginning of the war in 2011, the country's government and the Syrian citizens themselves have expressed their rejection of the presence of the United States, a presence that in times of coronavirus has continued.
