SDF sends hundreds of armored vehicles to al-Hasakah, Deir Ezzor
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Local sources report that US forces have recently installed a new spy balloon in the El Conico gas field in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
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US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces ride in armored vehicles near the town of Shadadi, about 60 kilometers south of the northeastern Syrian city of al-Hasakah, on Friday 25 August 2017. (AFP)
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have transported 500 military armored vehicles from the city of Qamishli in the northern countryside of al-Hasakah to the towns of Jadeed Akidat, Al-Basira, and the Al-Omar oil field in the northeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. This exchange occurred as the Syrian army and its allies relinquished control of the area.
Local sources have confirmed to Al Mayadeen that US forces have recently installed a new spy balloon in the El Conico gas field in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor, coinciding with the arrival of reinforcements of SDF militants to the region.
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Earlier this week, the international coalition, led by the US occupation forces in Syria, carried out a series of infantry drills, in cooperation with the so-called "Army of Free Syria" faction over an area of 55 km starting from the illegal Al-Tanf occupation base, on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border triangle.
The drills lasted for several days and included training on monitoring, reconnaissance systems, anti-aircraft weapons, and medium-to-heavy machine guns.
"As part of our joint mission to ensure security and stability and enhance joint combat capability in the 55 km area, the Army of Free Syria completed joint training exercises that lasted for several days," the faction said in a statement on social media.
Farid Al-Qassem, the leader of the faction said the "drills conducted jointly with the international coalition serve as a signal of hope for the Syrian people."
It is likely that Al-Qassem's statements hint at the existence of a US plan to link Al-Tanf base to the SDF-controlled areas in northeastern Syria, relying on tribal forces, which the United States continues to form in the SDF-controlled areas.
Field sources told Al Mayadeen that "the United States has not yet been able to form any nucleus of a tribal force into militias directly affiliated with it to protect its bases in northeastern Syria from attacks."
The sources suggested that "the SDF does not want to engage in any war and is probably working to obstruct the organization of tribes into militias."
"A US initiative to link the Al-Tanf base with its bases in northeastern Syria is far-fetched because this is impossible in light of the deployment of the Syrian army and its auxiliary forces in the entire desert that connects Al-Tanf with the Homs desert, all the way to Al-Bukamal," the sources explained.
"The coalition is trying to put pressure on the popular resistance to prevent it from expanding its operations against the illegal presence of US bases in the south and northeast of the country."
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