Seven fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in an attack on an American base in eastern Syria overnight, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack took place at the Al-Omar oil field, which is the largest US-led coalition base in the country. Six SDF fighters were martyred in the attack, and 18 others were wounded. The force condemned the attack and reserved the right to respond. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the drone attack on the US occupation base.
The head of the Observatory said this was the first attack by pro-Iran groups against American bases after US strikes in Syria and Iraq. On January 28, a drone attack killed three US soldiers in Jordan, which was blamed on Iran-backed forces. In response, the US carried out unilateral strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq. At least 29 pro-Iran fighters were killed in the US strikes, according to the Observatory.
The US-led coalition was established in 2014 to fight IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria. There are roughly 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria. With US support, the SDF led the battle to dislodge IS fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019. The force is the de facto army of the Kurdish semi-autonomous administration in Syria’s northeast.
