U.S. military convoy crosses border into northeastern Syria
ANTAKYA, Turkey & ERBIL, Iraq – A convoy of U.S. military vehicles has crossed the border from Iraq and made its way across northeastern Syria in an effort to prevent oil fields from falling into the hands of ISIS, NBC News has confirmed.
The U.S. has begun reinforcing its positions in the Deir ez-Zor region in coordination with its partners in the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces and with additional military assets to prevent oil fields from coming under the control of ISIS or other destabilizing actors, according to a U.S. defense official.
"We will not discuss details or timelines of those forces for security reasons," the official said
Two sources inside Syria have independently confirmed that they witnessed a U.S. military convoy traveling toward Deir ez-Zour.
The convoy was composed primarily of lightly armored vehicles, commonly used by U.S. special operations forces operating in Syria. Several of the vehicles were flying large American flags, and were accompanied overhead by attack helicopters, eyewitnesses said.
