Nov 13, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
US and
international forces in northeastern Syria were attacked with drones and
rockets at least four times in the past 24 hours, though there were no
casualties and only minor damage, a US military official said on Monday.
US forces came under attack three times on Sunday evening, including near the Al Omar Oil field and at a US base at al-Shaddadi, the official told Reuters.
Multiple
drones were fired at US forces at the Rumalyn Landing Zone on Monday morning,
the official said. One drone was shot down but another damaged four tents, the
official added.
The attacks
came after the US carried out two airstrikes on Sunday against facilities it
said were used by Iran-aligned groups, its third set of strikes in Syria in as
many weeks.
US and
coalition troops have been attacked at least 40 times in Iraq and Syria since
early October. Statements, purportedly from militant groups, have said the
assaults are in response to US support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
So far, at
least 56 US personnel have suffered everything from minor wounds to traumatic
brain injuries, though all have returned to duty, the Pentagon has said.
The US
blames the attacks on groups backed by Iran - an assertion dismissed by Tehran
which says the groups are acting on their own accord.
The United
States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, whom it says
are on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a
resurgence of ISIS, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but
was later pushed back.
Security
analysts say there is growing concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict could
spread through the Middle East and turn US troops at isolated bases into
targets.
--
Arabiya News