US bases in Syria, Iraq targeted by drones; Pentagon says 45 US troops injured in recent attacks
Two major US-run military bases in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have been once again targeted by drones, amid smoldering anti-US sentiments in the region over its unconditional support for Israel’s onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
Citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that several unmanned aerial vehicles struck targets inside the US military installation near al-Khadra village in Hasakah province early on Tuesday morning.
There were no immediate reports about the extent of damage at the military facility, and possible casualties.
Earlier, a drone attack targeted US forces based near the Erbil International Airport.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, has claimed responsibility for most of the dozens of recent attacks against US occupation forces in Iraq and Syria, saying they were carried out in retaliation for US support of Israel’s bloody military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Iraqi anti-terror group said, for the first time they launched Al-Aqsa 1 medium-range missile against the US occupation’s bases in Iraq and Syria.
The group said in a statement that, “In the context of responding to the Israeli occupation’s crimes in its aggression on Gaza under US diktats and administration, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq reveals Monday, and for the first time, the putting into the medium range Aqsa 1 into service, wherein it was launched at US occupation bases in Iraq and Syria in some of its operations.”
The latest attacks came two days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Baghdad amid stern warnings from the Iraqi resistance.
Pentagon officials said on Monday that more than twice as many US troops may have been injured in recent attacks in Iraq and Syria than the Pentagon previously disclosed.
They said at least 45 Americans are reporting injuries or potential traumatic brain injuries.
The Pentagon previously said 21 soldiers received minor injuries in attacks on US forces at al-Tanf base in southern Syria and on al-Asad air base in western Iraq late last month.
Since October 17, there have been at least 38 separate attacks on bases housing US forces in Syria and Iraq, mainly by drones, mortars or rockets.
The two attacks that caused the injuries were both on October 18 and targeted al-Tanf and al-Asad bases.
Anti-US sentiment has been running high in the region since Israel launched the war on Gaza with Washington’s untrammeled support.
On Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza announced that the death toll from indiscriminate Israeli bombardments has reached 10,022 people, including 4,104 children and 2,641 women. It added that the number of those who have been wounded over the past 31 days has risen to 25,408.
The United States, Israel’s biggest ally, has provided the regime with thousands of arms consignments since the initiation of the war.
The US House of Representatives on November 2 passed a standalone $14.3-billion military assistance package for Israel. The legislation, however, is yet to clear the Senate.
Washington has also vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that called on the occupying regime to cease its aggression.
