Four U.S. soldiers killed in explosion northeast of Syria

Damascus, November 9 (RHC)-- Four U.S. soldiers have been killed by an explosive device in the countryside of Hasakah province in northeastern Syria, the Arab country’s official news agency reports.

The American soldiers were killed after their vehicle was targeted with an explosive device near the village of Markadeh on Hasakah-Dayr al-Zawr road, SANA reported Sunday.  The incident took place while the troops were travelling between the U.S.-occupied Al-Shaddadi and Al-Omar bases, according to ASB News.

Following the explosion, the U.S. forces cordoned off the area amid the flight of American warplanes in the area, SANA reported.  The report also said a translator was among the victims, who were taken to the al-Shaddadi base in Hasakah countryside.

A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombarding what it claimed Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

A large number of American troops are also operating on the ground in eastern and northeastern Syria. While the U.S. claims its troops in Syria are assisting the allied SDF Kurdish militants in their purported fight against Daesh, there is ample evidence which shows the U.S. is there to loot Syria’s oil resources.

A convoy of 37 American tankers reportedly smuggles crude oil from fields in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah to western Iraq.

The sources added that several armored vehicles belonging to the U.S. military and militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) escorted the convoy until it arrived at the border crossing.