U.S. forces transfer "stolen Syrian oil" to bases in Iraq: media

DAMASCUS, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- A 44-tanker convoy carrying oil taken from Syrian fields departed Syria's northeastern al-Hasakah province for U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.

According to local sources cited by SANA, the convoy exited the Yarubiya countryside on the Iraqi-Syrian border through the unauthorized Mahmoudiya crossing,

The incident came days after the U.S. forces took 95 tankers of oil and a truckload of grains from northeastern Syria on Dec. 17.

The Syrian government has repeatedly accused the U.S. forces of "pillaging Syrian resources," a move that further exacerbates the economic hardships of the war-torn country.

Head of the government-run Syrian Oil Company, Farhan Jamil Abdullah, said in July that as a result of the U.S. sanctions and military presence in Syria, oil production has decreased to 15,000 barrels per day from 385,000 barrels before the crisis, while gas production has plunged from 30 million cubic meters per day to 10 million cubic meters.

The Syrian government has lost control of most of the energy fields as a result of the U.S. presence in oil-rich areas in northern and eastern Syria, he said.

Oil Minister Firas Hassan Kaddour said in July that the losses of the energy sector in Syria are close to 100 billion U.S. dollars.