US military base under attack in the Middle East

Căn cứ quân sự Mỹ bị tấn công dồn dập ở chảo lửa Trung Đông - 1 — US soldiers drive Bradley fighting vehicles during a joint exercise with the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria in 2021 (Photo: AP).

According to Pentagon officials, US troops have been attacked by drones and missiles at least 10 times in Iraq and three times in Syria since October 17.

Washington has blamed Iran-backed militias for the attacks, but has admitted there is no evidence to suggest Iran's leadership ordered them.

Twenty US troops suffered “minor injuries” when two drones targeted the al-Tanf military base in southern Syria on October 18, US Central Command told NBC News on October 24 in its first confirmation of US casualties.

Four other US personnel were also injured in two drone strikes on US forces at al-Asad base in western Iraq. In a separate incident at the same base, a US civilian contractor died of a “heart attack” while hiding during a drone strike.

In total, between October 17 and October 24, US-led coalition forces were attacked at least 13 times “in coordinated drone and missile strikes,” said Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.

Iraqi armed groups with ties to Iran have recently warned that they will attack US targets in the Middle Eastern country with missiles and drones if Washington intervenes to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.

Asked whether the Pentagon believed Iran was responsible for the attacks, a Pentagon spokesman said the US "knows that the groups that carried out these attacks were supported by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian regime."

The White House and the Pentagon say they believe Iran is behind a recent string of attacks on US bases.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken both said over the weekend that there was a “potential for escalation of violence” by Iranian proxy forces.

"If Iran or its proxies attack American personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security quickly and decisively," Mr. Blinken warned.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused Iran of "actively facilitating" these attacks, and accused Iran of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah forces in their conflict with Israel.

The US maintains around 2,500 troops in Iraq, while up to 1,000 are deployed in Syria, controlling key oil fields and crossing points on the Euphrates River with the support of Kurdish-led militias. Damascus has repeatedly criticized the presence of these forces as a violation of international law.

Attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria have increased since the Hamas-Israel conflict erupted on October 7. The US has sent naval forces to the Middle East in the past two weeks, including two aircraft carriers, other warships and about 2,000 Marines.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned the US and Israel that if they did not stop their attacks on Palestinians, "anything could happen at any moment and the region would spiral out of control." Amir-Abdollahian added that further escalation of the conflict would have "far-reaching consequences."

Source