According to a US official, US and coalition soldiers in Iraq and Syria were attacked four times on Thanksgiving Day.
Multiple one-way attack drones were launched at Al-Asad Airbase in the morning of Thursday, and another drone was sent in the direction of Erbil Airbase in Iraq. Forces at Mission Support Site Euphrates in Syria came under attack from multiple rockets as well. Mission Support Site Green Village in Syria was hit by another one-way attack drone on Thursday afternoon.
According to the official, all four occurred following an attack on Erbil Airbase on Wednesday afternoon, when a one-way attack drone was launched.
According to the official, neither lives nor property were lost in any of the attacks.
Since October 17, at least 73 attacks have been launched against US and allied forces. They come after a US air strike on two Kataib Hezbollah bases in Iraq on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning local time).
US Central Command said that the bombings were “in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups, including the one in Iraq on November 21, which involved use of close-range ballistic missiles.”
According to a defence department official, Kataib Hezbollah utilised the facilities to “support recent attacks on US and coalition bases in Iraq and Syria.” The locations of the installations were near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, Iraq, south of Baghdad.
Kataib Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, released a statement claiming that eight of its members had been killed and four had been injured as a result of US airstrikes.
While the strikes were the first in Iraq since attacks on US and coalition forces began, they were the fourth US strike against sites associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since the hostilities started on October 17.
On October 26, one F-15 and two F-16s launched an attack on two weapons and ammunition storage facilities in the Syrian city of Abu Kamal. A weapons depot in eastern Syria was the target of an airstrike by two F-15s on November 8. The United States conducted more attacks on an IRGC training centre and a safe house on November 12.
After Hamas attacked Israel, the attacks against US and coalition forces began, but the Pentagon insists that the US has been effective in preventing any escalation that would bring the fight beyond Israel and Gaza.
Do we need more deterrence? Singh told reporters last week, “We feel that it is.” This war has not exploded into a broader regional conflict. We’ve… launched three separate attacks. We answered most recently this weekend. We repeat that we will retain the option to respond when and where we see fit in the future.
