2023-10-24 01:24:23
The incident interrupted a Joe Biden press conference. US forces were targeted by a drone attack Monday in Syria that caused no injuries, the Pentagon said after a local armed group said it had launched drones against the coalition.
“There was an attempted drone attack on Al-Tanf in Syria,” a strategic base near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder told reporters.
Two attack drones were “shot down” using “defense systems”, without any injuries to be reported among the American forces, he said, without providing further details.
The White House, however, accused Iran on Monday of “actively facilitating” attacks on bases where the United States stations soldiers in the Middle East.
Five attacks in one week
Since Wednesday, at least five drone and rocket attacks have targeted three Iraqi bases where American troops and the international anti-jihadist coalition are deployed. One of them caused “light injuries”, according to the American army.
Most of the attacks were claimed by a group called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” on Telegram channels affiliated with Shiite factions loyal to Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, the target of a deadly attack of unprecedented scale on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which was a prelude to intense Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
However, on Monday the group called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” claimed to have launched its drones against American forces in Al-Tanf and Al-Malikiyah, in Syria, a country where Washington has around 900 soldiers fighting the Islamic State organization.
The United States announced on Sunday the strengthening of its military presence in the region and warned Iran and allied armed organizations against any widening of the conflict in the Middle East.
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