A Syrian army checkpoint intercepted a convoy of vehicles belonging to the US occupation forces in the village of Tal Dahab in the southern countryside of Qamishli, preventing it from passing through the village and forcing it to retreat, SANA reported on Monday.

Local sources told SANA that "the army checkpoint intercepted a convoy affiliated to the US occupation comprising 5 armored vehicles that tried to pass by the village of Tal Dahab in Qamishli southern countryside heading towards the city, forcing it to retreat."

This coincided with the flight of reconnaissance planes, likely to be belonging to the US-led so-called "International Coalition" over the region for more than five hours before withdrawing.

The Pentagon has previously confirmed that the United States has reduced the number of patrols in northern Syria.

In late September, Syrian army soldiers also prevented a US convoy from entering a village in northern Al-Hasakah province and forced it to change course. According to SANA, the US convoy consisted of five vehicles.

The US has been for years supporting the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, which are currently controlling parts of the provinces of Al-Haskah, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.

Besides being an occupation force, the US continues to steal Syrian oil by smuggling it from its bases in Syria to its bases in Iraq. Convoys of tens of vehicles, including tankers loaded with stolen oil from oil fields occupied by US forces in Syria, are frequently seen crossing toward northern Iraq, in addition to trucks loaded with military equipment.

Routes of US tankers stealing Syrian oil unveiled

Last month, The Cradle news website carried out an extensive investigation, unraveling the detailed looting operation by the US and the SDF of Syria's resources through illegal border crossings into the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. 

The investigation report cited the Syrian Oil Ministry as saying that US occupation forces stole over 80% of Syria's daily oil production, which comes close to "66,000 barrels of oil every single day."

According to a report released by Syrian authorities, the losses since the war began on Syria in 2011 in the energy (oil and gas) sector have amounted to nearly $107 billion, 

The Cradle report reveals that the looted tankers take around 48 hours to go through the intended crossings (Fishkhabour, Al-Waleed, or Al-Yaarubiyah) and are "approved by the US army."

New footage of a US military convoy smuggling stolen oil out of Raqqah, Syria.

The US army has been consistently looting the country's oil and smuggling it into their Iraq bases.

Washington steals over 80 percent of Syria's oil output per day
MORE https://t.co/s1z2uIjzJk pic.twitter.com/ko7EsxTRdh

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 10, 2022

"There are usually no less than 70 to 100 tankers transporting Syrian oil during each journey," sources told the news website.

The Cradle explained that "the trip starts from the Syrian Al-Jazira region and passes through Al-Hasakah, where it stops for hours before continuing to one of the border outlets to procure supplies, and then proceeds to the Harir site in Erbil in the KRI."

"The oil is emptied into other tanks that carry it to the US base at Ain Al-Assad in Iraq’s Anbar province, or to Halabja province, where another US military base is located," the report added.

Read more: Too many reasons why US intervention in Syria is problematic: US media