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United States forces in Iraq and Syria have come under attack from Iran-backed forces 130 times since October 17, a Pentagon spokesman said on January 12.
According to the spokesman, 53 of the attacks took place in Iraq and the other 77 were in Syria. The attacks wounded 69 U.S. troops, but there were no casualties after December 25.
“When it comes to U.S. forces in the region, again, we’re there for one reason and one reason only, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Air Force Major General Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing. “And so we will continue to call on these Iranian proxies to cease these attacks, but we won’t hesitate, as we’ve demonstrated in the past, to take appropriate action to protect our forces should we need to do that.”
Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iranian-backed armed factions. The group began launching the attacks in response to the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which is backed by Washington.
The last attack reported by the IRI on January 12 targeted the Conoco gas plant base in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor.
The U.S. responded more than once. Mushtaq Talib “Abu Taqwa” al-Saidi, a senior commander of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, was killed in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in a retaliatory drone strike earlier this month. U.S. defense officials said that the commander was responsible for some of the recent attacks in Iraq and Syria.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is recognized by the Iraqi government, and it is said to be a key faction of the IRI.
The IRI remains largely undeterred. Attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria will likely continue as long as the Israeli war on Gaza is ongoing.
