In this file picture, a convoy of US military vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, on the outskirts of Dukoh city in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. (Photo by Reuters)

Damascus, June 20 (RHC)-- As part of the U.S. military’s systematic smuggling of basic commodities out of Syria, a convoy of dozens of US military trucks has reportedly carried tons of grain from the northeastern province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

Local sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that 40 military vehicles loaded with wheat crops from silos of the Jazira Region rumbled through the al-Waleed border crossing in the al-Ya'rubiyah region and entered the Iraqi territories on Saturday.

The sources added that vehicles belonging to the US-​sponsored and Kurdish-led militants from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) escorted the convoy.  The development took place only a few days after the United States dispatched truckloads of military and logistical equipment to Syria’s Hasakah province.

Local sources, who asked not to be named, told SANA that in mid-June a convoy of 55 trucks crossed the Waleed border and headed toward Kharab al-Jir military airport.

The U.S. 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.

The U.S. military has reportedly expanded its illegal bases in eastern Syria and strengthened them with air systems.   Former U.S. President Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil.