Islam Times - US military trucks smuggle wheat crops from northeast Syria to Iraq again

Islam Times - As part of the US military’s systematic smuggling of basic commodities out of Syria, a convoy of dozens of US military trucks has reportedly carried tons of grain from the northeastern province of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

Local sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA that 40 military vehicles loaded with wheat crops from silos of the Jazira Region rumbled through the al-Waleed border crossing in the al-Ya'rubiyah region and entered the Iraqi territories on Saturday.

The sources added that vehicles belonging to the US-sponsored and Kurdish-led militants from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) escorted the convoy.

The development took place only a few days after the United States dispatched truckloads of military and logistical equipment to Syria’s Hasakah province.

Local sources, who asked not to be named, told SANA that in mid-June a convoy of 55 trucks crossed the Waleed border and headed toward Kharab al-Jir military airport.

The US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country's rich mineral resources.

Former US President Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil.

After failing to oust the Syrian government through militant proxies and direct involvement in the conflict, the US government has stepped up its economic war on the Arab country.

In June 2020, the US enacted the so-called Caesar Act that imposed the toughest sanctions ever on Syria intending to choke off revenue sources for the government.

The sanctions have crippled the war-torn country’s economy by barring foreign companies from doing trade with Damascus. Syria says the real purpose of the measures is to put pressure on Syrians and their livelihoods.

Bitter clashes erupt between rival Turkish-backed militants in northern Syria
Meanwhile, rival Turkish-based Takfiri militants have turned against each other and engaged in fierce exchanges of fire in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo.

Local media outlets reported that bloody infighting has been going on between militants affiliated with the so-called Levant Front and Ahrar al-Sham terror groups in the al-Bab district of Aleppo.

The reports added that rival militants have been attacking each other’s positions intensely, using heavy weapons and tank shells.

At least seven people, including two civilians, have lost their lives as a result of the bitter clashes, while 15 others sustained injuries.

Turkey has deployed forces in Syria in violation of the Arab country's territorial integrity.

Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.

Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means available to the ongoing ground offensive by Turkish forces in the northern part of the Arab country.