A series of massive explosions shook northeastern Aleppo, resulting from the targeting of Syrian oil refineries established by armed groups in the area of Al-Bab with a volley of missiles of unknown origin.
Sputnik agency reported, citing local sources, that huge explosions were followed by widespread fires in the vicinity of the oil refineries around the town of "Tirhin," located in the Al-Bab area, where Turkish forces and their allied "Turkmen" factions are spread out. The agency clarified that at approximately 6:30 PM on Tuesday evening, an unknown entity targeted the area with a number of heavy missiles that fell in succession on the oil refineries operated by the armed "Turkmen" groups, which are involved in refining stolen Syrian oil, resulting in massive explosions that shook the entire region.
The agency indicated that the missiles struck precise targets deep within the area of the distillation sites (refineries) used by the armed groups to refine stolen oil, leading to consecutive explosions, which explains the broad areas of fires that followed the strikes. The explosions resulted in numerous casualties among the militants involved in the oil refining operations at the distillation sites, while firefighting vehicles began to extinguish the fires, and the dead and wounded were transported to various hospitals under tight security.
It is worth noting that John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, announced on Monday that U.S. forces in Syria are no longer responsible for securing oil in the country and their sole mission is to combat ISIS. Kirby told reporters that "Defense Department personnel and their contractors are not authorized to assist a private company seeking to exploit oil resources in Syria, nor its employees or agents."
In response to a question about the mission of U.S. forces in Syria, Kirby stated that the approximately 900 U.S. military personnel currently deployed in northeastern Syria are there to support the mission against the Islamic State in Syria; that is the reason for their presence there.
The most significant oil fields are primarily located in areas controlled by the "Syrian Democratic Forces," the military forces affiliated with the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, which derive most of their revenue from oil profits.
It should be noted that this targeting is not the first of its kind experienced by the illegal oil refineries operated by militants in the village of "Tirhin," as they witnessed three similar attacks in the past few months, with no party claiming responsibility for the executions. The previous attacks resulted in injuries among the militants and the destruction of a large number of "distillation units."
The village of Tirhin in the eastern Aleppo countryside is considered the main center for the gathering of illegal oil refineries throughout the areas where Turkish forces and their affiliates are present, where stolen Syrian oil from all those areas is transported for collection and refining.
