Rockets Hit US Base in Syria after Attacks on Iraqi Resistance Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Rockets have hit an illegal American base in Syria less than 24 hours after airstrikes ordered by US President Joe Biden target facilities reportedly belonging to Iraqi resistance groups on both sides of Iraq and Syria’s common border, sources said.
The rocket attack took place in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zur on Monday, Reuters reported citing “sources” in the province. The report named the exact whereabouts of the incident as the proximity of Syria’s Omar oilfield, which is controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militant group.
“At 7:44 P local time, US Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets. There are no injuries and damage is being assessed,” Coly. Wayne Morrotto, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, meanwhile, said.
The operation is the codename for a US-led offensive targeting Iraq and Syria since 2014 under the pretext of fighting the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh. The Iraqi parliament and Damascus have both ruled the operation as illegal.
CNN said some of the missiles from the Monday incident had landed near US troops.
Earlier, American warplanes struck one location in Iraq and two in Syria along the Arab countries’ border, with the Pentagon alleging the targets to be “facilities” used by Iraqi resistance groups to stage drone attacks on American interests.
According to Iraq’s Sabereen News, four Iraqi fighters were killed in the attack on the headquarters of the 14th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units of Hashd al-Sha'abi anti-terror umbrella organization, which features some resistance groups.
The resistance factions have pledged revenge. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has also slammed the airstrikes as “blatant” violation of his country’s sovereignty, adding, “Iraq reiterates its refusal to be an arena for settling scores.”
A reporter with the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has also said that the strikes that targeted Syria killed one child and wounded three others.
An official source at Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry told SANA that the US aggression proved once again “the recklessness of US policies and the need for Washington to withdraw its aggressor forces” from the region.
The US-led military coalition has staged many attacks against the Iraqi groups in the past.
Iraqi and Syria experts consider the attacks to be an attempt by the US to entrench and prolong its military presence in the countries by targeting the groups that fight directly against Daesh, Washington’s apparent excuse for the military interference.