Several rockets were launched Thursday and Friday against bases hosting troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria. Such attacks were frequent early in the war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza but have largely halted since then. “Four rockets fell in the vicinity” of Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province, according to an Iraqi security source. Another security official mentioned an attack with “a drone and three rockets” falling close to the base perimeter. A United States official stated that projectiles landed outside the base without causing injuries or damage.
At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria, with no immediate reports of casualties, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The rocket was fired from “zones under the control of pro-Iranian militia” groups.
Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have largely halted similar attacks on US-backed troops in recent months. The latest attack comes after a security meeting between Iraqi and US officials in Washington on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq. The US Defense Department stated that “the delegations reached an understanding on the concept for a new phase of the bilateral security relationship.”
Since regional tensions soared over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, United States troops were targeted by rockets and drones more than 175 times in the Middle East, mainly in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed groups, claimed the majority of the attacks, in solidarity with Gaza Palestinians.
In January, a drone strike blamed on those groups killed three US soldiers at a base in Jordan. In retaliation, US forces launched strikes against Tehran-backed fighters. Attacks against US troops have largely halted since then, as Baghdad engages in talks with Washington on the future of the mission. The coalition was deployed to Iraq in 2014 to combat the Islamic State group, which still carries out attacks and ambushes in both countries.
