Armed suicide drones have targeted US forces in Syria. This is the latest sign that Iran-backed militias in the region may seek to expand the war between Israel and Hamas by attacking American troops.
A Pentagon official told that “multiple disposable drones” were fired against US and coalition troops stationed at the Rumalyn landing zone in northern Syria on Saturday morning.
One drone was shot down before reaching its target and the other hit the Rumalyn facility but did not explode, the official said. There were no injuries or damage to infrastructure.
According to Fox News, which first reported the attack in Rumalyn, there have been at least 48 similar drone or missile attacks on U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17.
In retaliation for the escalating attacks, the United States on Wednesday carried out an airstrike on a weapons depot in eastern Syria that it said was used by Iranian forces and their proxy militias.
Suicide drones attacked US forces in Syria on Saturday. There have been at least 48 such drone and missile attacks in Syria and Iraq since October 17
The source of drone strikes against U.S. forces in Syria on Saturday was not immediately clear, but similar attacks last week were attributed to Iran-backed militants operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
For years, Iran has been supplying its Qasef-1 drones and other UAV munitions to its proxies in the region, including militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Gaza.
The Rumalyn landing zone was also targeted by a 107mm rocket attack on October 8, a day after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Israel responded to the Hamas attack with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and a ground attack on the Palestinian enclave to oust Hamas from power there.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, which makes no distinction between combatant and civilian casualties, says more than 11,000 Palestinians have died in the war.
Hamas is armed and funded by Iran, and Washington has also blamed Iranian-backed militias for dozens of attacks on American troops in the region in recent months.
Iranian-backed forces gained a foothold in Syria while fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.
For years, Iran has been supplying its Qasef-1 drones (above in a file photo) and other UAV munitions to its proxies in the region, including militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Gaza
US soldiers from the 1st Armored Division are deployed in Syria in 2020. There are currently around 900 US soldiers stationed in Syria, most of them in the east
In Wednesday’s retaliatory strike in Syria, two U.S. F-15 fighter jets dropped multiple bombs on a weapons depot near Maysulun in Deir el-Zour known to have been used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said.
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he ordered today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Explanation.
A U.S. military official told reporters in a call that people were seen at the warehouse during the day while the U.S. military monitored the site for hours, but the number dropped to about “a few” overnight when the attack occurred, according to Associated Press.
The official said the attack triggered secondary explosions, indicating the presence of weapons. However, the US believes no civilians were killed and everyone in the warehouse was linked to the Revolutionary Guard or Syria-based militia groups.
A second senior defense official said the attack was aimed at “disrupting and weakening the capabilities of groups directly responsible for attacks on U.S. forces in the region” by specifically targeting facilities affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard keep in touch.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (center) and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (right) are seen during a bilateral meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Iranian-backed forces have gained a foothold in Syria while fighting for Assad during the country’s civil war
In Wednesday’s retaliatory attack (above) in Syria, two US F-15 fighter jets dropped several bombs on a weapons depot near Maysulun in Deir el-Zour
The precision strike, the defense official said, was deliberate and designed not to escalate the conflict in the region.
The military official said a deconfliction phone line connecting U.S. military personnel with Russian forces in Syria was used to inform them of the attack.
U.S. forces were first deployed to Syria during the Obama administration’s campaign against the Islamic State, working with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Today there are around 900 US soldiers stationed in Syria, most of them in the east.