Middle Eastern military bases of the United States, a key ally of the Tel Aviv regime that provided arms and intelligence support to Israel soon after the war began, were again targeted.
In the past 10 months, US military bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 175 times by rockets and kamikaze-armed drones. The first US soldier was killed in a shooting at Tower 22 base, located in the border triangle where Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet. Pro-Iranian militias have implemented a policy of using attacks to intimidate US troops they want out of the region.
After a long period of silence, there was activity on the Syrian front on Thursday and Friday, with a U.S. military base in the east coming under heavy rocket attack.
US soldiers stationed at Conoco, Syria’s largest gas field, were woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of an explosion, and local sources reported seeing smoke rising from the base on the banks of the Euphrates River.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 missiles were fired at the base and that the US military responded with heavy artillery fire. There were unconfirmed reports that US fighter jets took off after the attack, bombing rocket launchers and trucks belonging to pro-Iranian groups.
The Observatory reported that pro-Iranian militias and Syrian regime forces were targeting US military bases.
There has been no US statement about the attacks, which have been going on off and on for about 48 years, and no one has yet claimed responsibility for them.
The Iraqi Ain al-Asad base was also hit with four rockets, AFP reported. It also stressed that the attack on the Conoco plant in Deir ez-Zor came in the same week that Iraq and the US began negotiations on the withdrawal.
US forces have long cooperated with the terrorist group YPG in northern and eastern Syria. Parts of Deir ez-Zor east of the Euphrates River are under YPG control, while the city centre and rural areas in the west are under Damascus regime control.
The US-led coalition has 900 troops in Syria. There are 2,500 US troops in Iraq.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US military bases in Syria have been targeted 132 times by pro-Iranian militias since the war began on October 7. The most attacked bases are Conoco and Al-Omar. Al-Omar is an oil base and Conoco is a gas base.
