Rockets fired from Iraq hit US military base in Syria

Middle East, News, US April 23, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

A United States military base in northeast Syria was attacked with at least five rockets fired from Iraqi territories on April 22, 2024. The attack, launched from the town of Zummar, was the first attack on the U.S. troops in the Middle East since February this year.

According to a government-affiliated Iraqi Security Media Cell, at least one of the several rockets successfully landed on the base. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, has yet to comment

A message posted on a social media group associated with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Iraq that was also behind the previous attacks on the U.S. military bases, indicated that armed factions in Iraq have resumed attacks on the U.S. after a nearly three-month hiatus due to perceived lack of advancement in talks aimed at ending the U.S.-led military coalition’s presence in the country.

The rocket attack on the U.S. military base came only a few days after the return of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from his trip to the United States, where he held discussions with President Joe Biden.

The U.S. officials referred to the recent escalation as a “failed rocket attack” without mentioning whether the rockets had hit or missed their intended target.

*^{American soldiers with Bradley combat vehicles in northeastern Syria. (Image Credit: U.S. Army/Spc. Jensen Guillory)}*

The U.S. officials also did not provide any details on whether the rockets were intercepted and destroyed before reaching their targets. Additionally, it was uncertain whether the base itself was the intended target of the attack.

Calm since February

These recent attacks mark the first incidents targeting U.S. bases in the region since early February. During that period, Washington conducted strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria were a response to a drone attack that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers in Jordan, which the U.S. attributed to an umbrella organization known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

The last attack targeting a U.S. base in Syria or Iraq occurred on February 4. Since then, there have been no updates about any attacks provided by the Pentagon or other sources.

On February 2, the U.S. Air Force, along with its allies, conducted aerial strikes on 85 locations in Syria and Iraq. The United States announced it had targeted command and control centers, intelligence facilities, and weapon storage sites utilized by Iran-backed militias to launch attacks against U.S. and Coalition Forces.

*^{United States convoy in Syria. (Image Credit: U.S. Army Reserve photo by Spc. DeAndre Pierce)}*

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, in the aftermath of these strikes, stated that the U.S. had targeted sites aimed at disrupting the capability of Iran-backed militias to carry out future attacks against American personnel.

The attacks were conducted against the Islamic Resistance, a coalition of military factions, labeled by the United States as an Iranian proxy, operating across Iraq and Syria. The group has been responsible for the majority of attacks on U.S. bases from mid-October 2023 until this past February.

The U.S. airstrikes came shortly after the drone attack on a military outpost known as “Tower 22” at the junction of the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders at the end of December 2023, which resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers and the injury of over 40 others.