A U.S. military patrol has blocked a Russian military convoy from using a main highway in northeast Syria on Monday.
A number of photos released in social media have depicted American Oshkosh M-ATV vehicles interdicting and blocking Russian armored vehicles along strategic roads in northeastern Syria.
A Russian military convoy attempted to go round an American checkpoint and got stuck in the mud on the field. Russian Tigr armored vehicles and BTR-82A armored personnel carrier attempted to bypass the checkpoint but got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out with a Typhoon-K wheeled armored vehicle (factory index KAMAZ-53949).
According to information local media, U.S. soldiers blocked a Russian military patrol en route to the oil field.
The Russian convoy was attempting to reach a border crossing between Syria and Iraq that is under the control of U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
After Turkish military and allied Syrian militias launched an offensive against SDF fighters in October 2019, Russia, a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, stepped in to increase its military presence in northeast Syria following a U.S. decision to withdraw troops from parts of the border area between Syria and Turkey.
Currently, hundreds of U.S. troops are stationed in north-eastern Syria, working with the Syrian Democratic Forces to fight against ISIS.
U.S. troops ‘dumped Russian Convoy in mud’ in Syria pic.twitter.com/W0ozTN2cBj
— Dylan Malyasov (@DylanMalyasov) March 31, 2020