SAA troups
© Delil Souleiman/AFPSAA troops in Tal Tamr
On 13 September, local sources in Syria's northeastern Hasakah governorate reported that a US military convoy was intercepted by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the vicinity of Qamishli.

Sources who spoke with the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported:
"A checkpoint of the Syrian army intercepted four armored vehicles of the US occupation while they were passing through the Mansif area, southeast of Qamishli city, in the countryside of Hasakah governorate, forcing them to retreat and leave the area."
Several technical vehicles from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accompanied the US convoy and were also forced to turn tail.

Earlier this month, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Washington established a third military base in Syria, in Naqqara village, just three kilometers from Qamishli in the northeastern province of Hasakah.

The Pentagon claims that the presence of US troops in Syria is aimed at preventing ISIS from taking control over the country's vast oil fields. However, the US army is often spotted trafficking oil and wheat out of the country to their bases in Iraq.

On 9 September, SANA reported that the occupation forces took out a convoy of 88 tankers loaded with stolen Syrian oil through the Mahmoudiya crossing towards Iraqi territory.

Damascus sees the presence of US forces in Syria as illegal under international law, accusing Washington of being there to loot its natural resources.

Two weeks ago, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed Damascus' losses in the oil and gas sectors, as a result of the trafficking campaign by the US occupation, with direct and indirect losses amounting to about 107.1 billion dollars during the period from 2011 to the middle of this year.