WashingtonCNN –
Since Friday morning, American troops in Iraq and Syria have been targeted eight more times by one-sided strike drones and rocket fire, as U.S. forces face increasing attacks from Iranian-backed groups.
The new incidents – one on Friday afternoon, one on Saturday, five more on Sunday and one on Monday morning – mark a total of at least 38 attacks on US and coalition forces in those two countries since October 17, just days after the start of a bloody war between Israel and Hamas.
CNN has reported that Iran is trying to capitalize on the backlash against US support for Israel, and while Tehran may not be explicitly directing the groups’ attacks, it does appear to be encouraging them. While the increase in attacks began after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7, Pentagon officials refused to draw a direct link between the increase in attacks and the conflict in Gaza, saying instead that Iran had been trying for a long time to force the US to withdraw from the region.
“For a long time, long before October 7, Iran’s strategic goal was to force U.S. forces to withdraw from the region,” a senior defense official said on October 30. “We have deployed tens of thousands of U.S. forces across the region for decades. We have strengthened our air defense position. Most of these attacks were unsuccessful. But Iran’s strategic goal has not changed.”
The dozens of attacks largely focused on U.S. and coalition troops at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq and al-Tanf Garrison in Syria, with some attacks taking place near Mission Support Site Green Village in Syria. Bashur, Iraq; Euphrates Mission Support Site, Syria; Erbil Air Base, Iraq; Shaddadi, Syria; Rumalyn Landing Zone, Syria; and Tall Baydar, Syria.
A unilateral attack drone was shot down near Shaddadi, Syria, on Friday afternoon, with no casualties or damage to infrastructure reported, a U.S. official reported Monday. On Saturday morning, another unilateral attack drone was shot down near Shaddadi, with no casualties or damage to infrastructure reported.
The frequency of attacks increased on Sunday and there were a total of five separate incidents. Unilateral attack drones shot down near Tall Baydar, Syria; al-Tanf Garrison, Syria; and three times near Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq. An attack on Al-Asad also included a multi-missile attack and several unilateral attack drones.
Another unilateral attack drone was shot down near Tall Baydar, Syria, on Monday morning. According to the US official, none of the attacks over the weekend resulted in any casualties or damage to infrastructure.
“Most of these attacks were successfully repelled by our military,” the U.S. official said. “Thanks to our robust defense, most were unable to achieve their goals.”
While the recent attacks do not appear to have resulted in injuries to U.S. forces, attacks prior to the U.S. response on October 26 have so far resulted in more than 40 minor injuries, including 20 with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The Pentagon said Monday that the number of U.S. soldiers reporting injuries as a result of the increasingly frequent attacks has increased – with more than 20 more people reporting minor injuries, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General said. said Gen. Pat Ryder Ryder.
The Pentagon last said on October 25 that 21 US military personnel had reported minor injuries.
Five other military personnel from al-Tanf Garrison in Syria were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, and another ten people were diagnosed with other minor injuries, which Ryder said can include “shrapnel, headaches, perforated eardrums, tinnitus, twisted ankle, etc.” . ” In Iraq, ten people were diagnosed with minor injuries – nine at al-Asad air base and one at Erbil air base.
Ryder also added that of the U.S. soldiers who had previously been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and returned to duty, two have now been transported to Landstuhl, Germany, for further evaluation. They are in stable condition, Ryder said, and the evaluation is being done “out of an abundance of caution.”
Ryder added that all of the breaches occurred before the U.S. strikes on facilities used by Iranian-backed groups on Oct. 26.
“So this can happen for a number of reasons: individuals who initially neglect the severity of the injuries they have sustained, either from a direct or indirect explosion, may delay reporting or seeking treatment, or symptoms may occur , which only occur after the initial explosion. “The report may result in personnel seeking medical attention at a later date,” Ryder said. “Therefore, reporting data relies heavily on self-reporting when injuries are not visually apparent to medical personnel providing care immediately after an incident.”
In a clear message to Iran and its proxies in the region who may seek to further escalate volatile events in the Middle East, the US has deployed significant firepower, including two naval carrier strike groups and various aircraft, including F-16s and F-16s -15 fighter aircraft and approximately 1,200 U.S. soldiers, including those assigned to the deployed Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries. And this weekend, U.S. Central Command made the rare announcement that a U.S. guided-missile submarine had arrived in the Middle East.
Following U.S. strikes on facilities used by Iranian-backed groups, the senior defense official told reporters that Iran is “at the center of what we’re seeing.”
“So yes, there is a direct connection between the militia groups and any frontline organizations that claim responsibility for attacks on U.S. personnel,” the official said. “But the key point here is that Iranian fingerprints are everywhere. Iran would try to hide behind a deniable plausibility, and we hold them accountable.”
“I would like to direct you to Iran as to why it continues to allow its proxies to attack U.S. forces,” the senior defense official said Oct. 30. “And let me be clear: We will continue to respond if the President decides it is necessary to protect U.S. forces.”