The United States is creating a threat of turning Syria into an arena of confrontations between "Israel" and Iran, Igor Kostyukov, the head of the Russian General Staff's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), considered on Tuesday.

"With the United States being behind it, there is a threat of turning Syria into an arena of Israeli-Iranian confrontation," Kostyukov said during the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security.

According to Kostyukov, "Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, the Israeli armed forces have carried out over 180 operations to destroy civilian and military infrastructure on the territory of the [Syrian] republic under the pretext of fighting the Iranian presence."

"As a result of the strikes, more than 40 civilians were killed and about 70 were injured, the losses among the Syrian military personnel amounted to over 90 people, up to 200 were injured," the Russian Intelligence official highlighted.

US reviews Israeli plans for strikes against Iranian targets in Syria

It is noteworthy that according to current and former US officials, "Israel" secretly coordinates with the US on many of the airstrikes it conducts in Syria.

Behind the curtains, current and former officials say that for several years, many Israeli missions have been reviewed in advance for approval by senior officials at US Central Command and the Pentagon.

This means that the formal coordination was previously unknown, and the secrecy surrounding it demonstrates how Washington has sought to support its Israeli ally.

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The US review, according to the Wall Street Journal, mainly focuses on Israeli missions in eastern Syria that pass close to the US occupation's Al-Tanf base.

What is the US doing in Syria?

Besides being an occupation that backs armed groups for its own operations and agenda in the region, the US occupation forces continue to steal Syrian oil by smuggling it from their bases in Syria to their 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.

Read more: US occupation loots, smuggles 100 tankers of Syrian oil to Iraq

US training militants to conduct terrorist attacks

Kostyukov revealed that the United States is training militants of the Syrian armed groups and the Islamic State terrorist group (IS) to conduct terrorist attacks in the country.

"The destructive activity of the US armed forces is also noted in the al-Tanf zone. American servicemen continue to train militants of the Syrian armed opposition (up to 800 people) and IS (about 200 people) in order to use them to carry out terrorist attacks in the southern and central regions of the Arab country," the head of the GRU underlined.

The United States continues to plunder the Syrian resources, the Russian official said, adding that US companies are engaged in extracting 220,000 barrels of oil daily.

Moreover, the US and Europe prevent the return of Syrian refugees to their country, although Damascus created all conditions for this, Kostyukov added.

ISIS leader killed in special operation in south Syria

On Monday, SANA reported that the Syrian Special Mission Forces carried out a special operation in the city of Tafas in the Daraa countryside, during which a high-ranking leader of the ISIS terrorist organization was eliminated.

“The security forces carried out a special operation in Tafas city in Dara northwestern countryside, during which the terrorist Mahmoud Ahmad Al-Hallaq, nicknamed as Abu Omar Al-Jababi, one of the most dangerous terrorists in the southern region, was eliminated," a security source told SANA.

This is the second ISIS leader to be eliminated by the Special Mission Forces this month. Last Wednesday, Special Forces carried out an operation in which the terrorist leader of ISIS in the south, Abu Salem Al-Iraqi, was killed. Al-Iraqi was killed after he blew himself up with an explosive belt when he was surrounded by the Special Forces.