The presence of US troops in the country’s north-east has been termed as occupation by the Syrian government, which accuses them of stealing the region’s oil resources and backing anti-government forces to prolong the war in the country

The firing took place while the US forces were conducting an airdrop operation near the Iraq border. The Syrian government has termed the presence of US forces in the country as illegal, calling it an occupation and demanded their immediate withdrawal

The Syrian economy—destroyed by over a decade of war, unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and its allies, and the recent devastating earthquake—is suffering from the loss of revenues from oil, which it alleges is being looted from the country by the occupation forces

The strikes were carried out after a drone attack on a US base in Syria’s Hasakah killed one US contractor and injured six others. US forces have been illegally deployed on Syria since 2015

The base in al-Tanf was built by the US during the war against ISIS in 2016 without the consent of the Syrian government. The US is accused of using the base to train anti-Assad forces and steal the country’s resources