United States sends Himars missile system to Syria

The United States has armed its forces stationed near oil fields in eastern Syria with HIMARS rocket launchers, Anadolu quoted local sources as saying yesterday.

The HIMARS missile system was sent to US forces in Deir Ez-Zor province over the past few days, the sources told Anadolu.

Deir Ez-Zor province, east of the Euphrates River, is currently controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The missile system “was sent to the American bases in Al-Omar oilfield and Conoco gas plant,” the sources said.

The move “aims to confront possible attacks by Iran-backed groups on the opposite bank of the Euphrates River,” the local sources said.

US forces in Syria have come under drone and missile attacks on several occasions from areas controlled by Iran-backed groups.

A few weeks ago, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, made a surprise visit to one of the US- controlled bases in northeastern Syria.

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At the time, Reuters reported that the visit aimed to assess the effectiveness of the war against Daesh, in addition to the safety of US forces in Syria.

Milley told reporters that the deployment of US forces in Syria nearly eight years ago to fight Daesh is still worth the risk.

About 900 American soldiers are deployed within the coalition forces in areas controlled by the Qasad militia, and they are located in several bases in the governorates of Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor, mainly in areas with high oil and gas reserves.