November 2023

US forces patrol in Syria's north-eastern Hasakah province near the Turkish border. AFP — US forces patrol in Syria’s north-eastern Hasakah province near the Turkish border. AFP

An attack on US coalition forces in Syria on Wednesday broke a brief period of relative calm amid a spike in regional violence.

A US Department of Defence official told The National that the morning rocket attack against at a mission support site in Euphrates, Syria, produced “no injuries and no damage to infrastructure”.

This is the first confirmed attack on US and coalition forces since November 23, a day before a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza.

“Our forces in Iraq and Syria will stay focused on the mission we have at hand, which is preventing Daesh [ISIS] resurgence and advising, assisting and enabling our partner forces,” the defence official said.

Attacks by Iran proxies on US troops put Iraqi government in difficult position

“As we’ve continuously reiterated, our forces reserve the inherent right to self-defence.”

There have been a surge in attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to an attack by militant group Hamas on October 7.

Militia groups in Iraq have linked the recent attacks on US bases to Washington’s support for Israel.

Wednesday’s incident brings the total number of attacks to 74, with 36 in Iraq and 38 in Syria, the defence official added.

The US has been attempting to prevent the war from expanding into the wider region and has issued new sanctions against Iran-backed militia groups operating in Iraq amid the surge in attacks.

Earlier this month, for the first time since the Israel-Gaza war began, Washington struck targets in Iraq in “self-defence”, a US official said.

All of the previous retaliatory US strikes had been carried out in Syria.

There are about 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of ISIS.

thenationalnews.com

AFP

US warship shoots down drone launched from Yemen

A handout picture courtesy of the US Navy shows the guided missile destroyer USS Carney firing on missiles and drones launched from Yemen on October 19, 2023

Washington – A US Navy warship shot down a drone on Wednesday launched from a part of Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Huthi rebels, the American military’s Central Command said.

The Huthis, who control much of Yemen and are part of an “axis of resistance” arrayed against Israel, have launched a series of drones and missiles since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month.

“At approximately 1100 (Sanaa time), while in the South Red Sea, the Arleigh-Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) shot down an Iranian-produced KAS04 unmanned aerial vehicle launched from Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

“Although its intentions are not known, the UAV was heading toward the warship,” which was escorting a US Navy oiler and a US-flagged ship carrying military equipment, it said, adding that “there were no injuries to US personnel and no damage to US vessels.”

The US Navy downed multiple drones launched from Yemen on November 23, one drone on November 15, and both missiles and drones on October 19, while the Huthis shot down an American drone earlier this month.

The drone and missile launches and shootdowns are related to the latest round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.

Israel responded with a relentless land and air campaign on Hamas-controlled Gaza that the group’s officials say has killed nearly 15,000 people.

– Iran drone approaches carrier –

Those deaths have provoked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks against American troops in the region as well as on Israel by armed groups opposed to both.

Israel has faced drone and missiles launched from Lebanon and Yemen, while American forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted in a series of attacks that have injured dozens of US personnel.

Washington has blamed the attacks on its personnel on Iran-backed forces and responded with air strikes on multiple occasions.

But a truce between Israel and Hamas appears to have led to a lull in the attacks, with the Pentagon saying Tuesday that there had been none since it began on November 24.

In another incident related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the United States said Wednesday that an Iranian drone flew dangerously close to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier the day before.

The Eisenhower is the centerpiece of one of two carrier strike groups deployed as part of US efforts to deter Iran and its proxy forces in the Middle East from escalating the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict.

“This unsafe, unprofessional, and irresponsible behavior by Iran risks US and partner nation lives and needs to cease immediately,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who commands American naval forces in the Middle East, said in a statement.

iraqinews.com/