A HH-60 helicopter prepares to land during a medical evacuation exercise within the 55km deconfliction zone in Syria, May 27, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Howard)
United States forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets by Iranian-backed groups at least 38 times in less than a month, the Pentagon revealed on November 6.
Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said that the attacks wounded 46 U.S. troops, more than double the injuries previously reported.
“These could be things like shrapnel, headaches, perforated eardrums, tinnitus, rolled ankles,” Ryder said, adding “traumatic brain injuries” to the list.
The troops’ injuries occurred during four attacks: a drone attack at al-Harir Air Base near Erbil city in the northern Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan, where the drone crashed prior to exploding; two drone attacks at Ay al-Assad Air Base in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar and another drone attack at Al-Tanf garrison in Syria in southeastern Syria.
All wounded personnel returned to duty following their injuries, Ryder told reporters. However, he noted that two U.S. personnel who had been treated for traumatic brain injuries and originally returned to duty were subsequently sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for further examination.
“They are in stable condition, so this is out of an abundance of caution,” Ryder said.
At least 16 of the attacks against the American troops were carried out after U.S. forces struck two facilities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the eastern Syria governorate of Deir Ezzor on October 27.
November 5 marked the highest number of attacks in a single day since the attacks began. Three drone and rocket attacks targeted Ayn al-Assad Air Base, another attack targeted a U.S. base near Erbil International Airport and two more drone attacks at two bases housing U.S. troops in Syria.
Right after the Pentagon’s announcement, the number of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria exceeded 40. Three drone attacks targeted two bases in northern Iraq and another targeted the Green Village base in al-Omar oil fields in Syria’s Deir Ezzor on November 7. A gas facility hosting U.S. troops in Deir Ezzor was also targeted with rockets on the same day.
An Iranian-backed shadowy armed group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for nearly all recent attacks on U.S. forces, saying that they were carried out in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The group formed a special operations room to support Gaza following the October 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital massacre and joined the war by launching attacks against U.S. forces. It later announced at least two strikes against Israel.
The recent attacks forced the U.S. to reinforce its bases in the Middle East with more than 1,200 troops and a dozen air defense systems. However, Washington continues to provide Israel with unconditional military support. This will definitely lead to more escalation in the region.
