OREANDA-NEWS. Al-Ikhbariya state television channel reports that a group of unknown people attacked an American military base in southeastern Syria. It is noted that this is an illegal United States’ base at the Omar oil field in the northeast of Deir ez-Zor Governorate.

According to media, the attack coincided with the arrival of trucks with military equipment.

“The American invaders responded to the attack with artillery shelling and light and sound grenades,” Al-Ikhbariya reports.

Since 2014, the United States and its allies have been conducting a military operation in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State terrorist group. In the Arab Republic, they have been operating without the permission of the country’s authorities and the approval of the United Nations Organization.

During de-escalation due to the Turkish operation against the Kurds in the autumn of 2019, Washington announced the withdrawal of its military forces. Later, it became known that part of the contingent will not leave the oil-bearing areas.

On November 12, the US Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, said that a final decision on how many US servicemen will remain in Syria has not yet been made. General Mark Millie, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that about 500–600 American soldiers could stay there.

On December 4, gunmen fired on a sports club in Aleppo Governorate in Syria. 10 civilian residents, including eight children, were killed. 13 people were injured, seven of them are children, and two people are acute patients.