US plans to use militants in Syria to kidnap Russians, Iranians: SVR

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Mar 2023 12:24
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In a statement, Russia's foreign intelligence service acknowledges that the US continues to use militant groups under its control in Syria as proxies to undermine the image of the country's legitimate government.

5th SFG (A) operators in a landing zone at Al-Tanf, November 2017. (Wikimedia)

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said, on Monday, that the US intends to "form groups of radical Islamists in Syria in order to destabilize the situation and kidnap Russian and Iranian military personnel."

In a statement, the SVR acknowledged that the US continues to use Islamist groups under its control in Syria as proxies to undermine the image of the country's legitimate government, led by President Bashar Al-Assad.

Located in Syria on the Iraqi border and within miles of the Jordanian border, the US base at al-Tanf has been the primary coordination post between Washington and the militants.

"[Terrorists] were instructed to incite hostilities in the Syrian southwest, in the central part of the country and east of the Euphrates River. For this, it is planned to form several detachments of radicals totaling about 300 people. After special training, they will be involved in attacks on military facilities in Syria and Iran. Part of the terrorists ... are planned to be used in the capital region, including for the abduction of Russian and Iranian military personnel," the SVR added.

This comes shortly after Al Mayadeen's sources reported that the so-called "International Coalition" led by the United States in Syria has transferred a number of ISIS militants from the Industrial Secondary Prison in the city of Al-Hasakah.

Why does the US continue to station troops in Syria?

Since ISIS has been defeated in Syria and Iraq, many analysts argued that the reasons for the US to remain stationed in Syrian territory have been left unclear.

The US frequently loots oil from Syrian gas fields and transports them to other occupation bases in Iraq via illegal crossings. Syrian news agency SANA reported last Saturday that US occupation troops have looted a new batch of oil from Syria's Al-Jazeera fields. The convoy was on its way to US military bases in Iraq via the illegal Al-Mahmudiya crossing in Al-Yarubiya region.

According to civilian sources, the convoy comprises 23 vehicles and includes covered trucks and tanks filled with stolen oil. The sources further added that an additional convoy made up of 34 trucks exited the illegal Al-Walid crossing in Al-Yarubiya.

The last time US troops plundered Syrian oil was on February 27. The oil was looted from the same Al-Jazeera fields and was transported to Iraq via illegal crossings. US troops claim to be occupying the area in order to rid the region of terrorists, yet the US has strategically implanted itself there for the purposes of stealing Syria's oil, as well as destabilizing President Bashar Al-Assad's government.

In December of 2022, Syria's Foreign Ministry said the US occupation forces and their affiliated military groups' systematic lootings of Syrian oil, wheat, and other national resources have amounted to direct losses valued at $25.9 billion and indirect losses valued at over $86 billion.

It further estimated the total value of the Syrian oil sector losses to amount to $111.9 billion.