US Launches Preemptive Strike On “Rocket Sites” Near Occupied Syrian Oil Fields

Late in the day Tuesday (local time) the US military carried out what’s being described as a “preemptive strike” against rocket sites in eastern Syria that “posed a threat” – according to a US coalition official statement. 

“The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coalition saw several launch sites near the Green Village in Syria,” Reuters reports, referencing an American base in Deir Ezzor province. “The official did not specify from which country the coalition carried out the strike.”

The base that was being “threatened” is in Syria oil-rich eastern region, which for years American forces have occupied in support of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). In the same area lies the country’s largest oil facility, al-Omar oil field, as well as Conoco gas field – both under US-SDF control, something Damascus and Moscow have long condemned as an illegal occupation presence intent on blocking Syria from its own vital energy resources. 

Over the past year the US base has seen occasional attacks, which is typically blamed by the Pentagon on “pro-Iran” militias, or also possibly Syrian national forces. 

In this case too, at least one regional correspondent has been told by a coalition official that “Iranian militias” were targeted in the new strikes. 

Most recently, in the past few months, the Pentagon has more often had to worry about its outposts near the Syria-Iraq border, with al-Tanf base in particular coming under recent drone and mortar attack.

Such border region incidents are suspected as originating from either side of the border – with the Iraqi side seeing Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces recently stepping up small drone attacks.

On Monday in Iraq, US forces came under drone attack at Camp Victory near the Baghdad airport. US forces in the region are on edge this week as large anti-American demonstrations are being held in major cities to mark the second anniversary of the killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani. 

And then on Tuesday drones threatened Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq, where US troops are stationed – the same base hit by Iranian cruise missiles two years ago, days after the Jan.3, 2020 assassination by drone of Soleimani. 

Footage from Ain Al-Assad Airbase, #Iraq from the CRAM engagement of the two suspected Samad drones downed during the early hours of this morning. pic.twitter.com/8xGo7BYVO3

— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) January 4, 2022

The above footage captures the base’s anti-air defenses intercepting the drones in real-time.