Oil production facility at the Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor, Syria (Photo: AFP).
According to Sputnik news agency, 6 missiles were said to have been dropped on a US military base located on the Al-Omar oil field in northeastern Deir ez-Zor, Syria in the early morning of October 27.
The attack was reported by Lebanese media sources and corroborated by an Iraqi media outlet affiliated with Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces.
On the same day, sources told regional media that they heard explosions inside the US base at the Conoco Gas Field, Syria's largest gas facility, also located in Deir ez-Zor province.
The attacks on US-controlled energy facilities in Syria follow attacks on US forces around Erbil airport in northern Iraq on October 27. The US base was targeted with two drones.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the Erbil attack. The group has previously claimed responsibility for recent drone and missile attacks on US forces across Iraq and Syria, in connection with US support for Israel amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
US Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder confirmed an attack on US forces in Erbil had been carried out, resulting in “some minor damage to infrastructure” but “no casualties.” Mr Ryder said the Pentagon believed “Iran was responsible” for militia activities across Iraq and Syria.
According to the Pentagon report, US forces and allies in Iraq and Syria have been targeted at least 16 times this month, including 13 times between October 17 and October 24, with 10 incidents in Iraq and three in Syria, "with a combination of drones and missiles.
Some 19 US service members are believed to have suffered “traumatic brain injuries” in the series of attacks. Fifteen of those injured are believed to have been at Al Tanf Garrison, a US-controlled outpost in Syria near the Iraq-Jordan border that Syria and its allies say the Pentagon has used to train militants seeking to overthrow the Syrian government.
The US currently has about 2,500 troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria. In addition, the US has also sent two aircraft carrier strike groups along with a series of combat vehicles and soldiers to the Middle East after Hamas' attacks on Israel in the past 3 weeks. The Pentagon announced on October 26 that more than 900 US troops have been or are on their way to the Middle East to strengthen air defense for US forces there. This move brings the total number of US troops in the region to thousands of members.
There are growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread across the Middle East and make US forces at bases in the region targets for attack.
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