In an apparent attempt to establish control over Syria’s oil deposits, the United States has begun the construction of a major military installation in Deir Ez-Zor province, according to a high-ranking representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Mehdi Kobani, the SDF's press secretary in Deir Ez-Zor, told Sputnik Turkiye that the new US military base is being built in the vicinity of al-Omar oilfield –the biggest oil deposit in Syria.

"The US is building a large military base in the oil-rich Al Omar region of Deir ez-Zor province. Due to security concerns we cannot provide information about the acreage of this new installation. There is currently construction machinery working in the vicinity of the base, and security is being provided by SDF forces," he said.

© AFP 2020 / US AIR FORCE / Senior Airman Erin Trower Inherent Resolve Spokesman Reveals Details of Pentagon's Operation Against Daesh

Earlier a local media outlet also posted video of US military helicopters operating in the area where this new facility is being built.

The US-led coalition launched its campaign of airstrikes against Daesh* in 2014, following it up with the deployment of US forces into Syria’s northeastern regions as the terrorists' so-called caliphate started to lose ground. Damascus has repeatedly criticized the US military intervention, pointing out that US forces were never invited into the country by the internationally recognized government of President Bashar Assad.

*A terrorist group banned in Russia.