DAMASCUS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Mortar shells fell in the vicinity of a U.S. base in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour on Tuesday, a war monitor reported.

The mortar shells, launched by an unknown party, struck the the U.S. base in the Koniko gas field in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour in the afternoon, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

There is no report on casualties, the UK-based watchdog said.

Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA also reported that mortar shells targeted the U.S. base in the gas field.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian forces opened fire on the forces of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near the base with no information on casualties, said the monitor.

The U.S. maintains several bases in the areas controlled by the SDF in northern and northeastern Syria.

Earlier Tuesday, two protests erupted in the northeastern province of Hasakah against the presence of the U.S. forces in Syria.

A day earlier, two U.S. military helicopters targeted a Syrian military checkpoint in the countryside of the northeastern city of Qamishli, killing a soldier and wounding others.

The conflict erupted when the Syrian troops at the checkpoint prevented a U.S. patrol from passing through.

The Syrian government has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Syria as they entered the country illegally without the consent of the Syrian government. Enditem

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