A series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria Reuters

Authors: Ahmed Rasheed and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

Baghdad/Amman (Reuters)-US and Iraqi officials said on Wednesday that in the past 24 hours, US diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked by three rockets and drones, including at least 14 rockets. Hit the Iraqi air base where the U.S. military is stationed. , Wounded two American soldiers.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for these attacks — which were part of a wave against the US military or its presence in Iraq and Syria — analysts believe that these attacks were part of Iran-backed militia operations.

The Iraqi militia allied with Iran vowed to retaliate because the United States attacked the Iraq-Syria border last month, killing four of its members.

Coalition spokesman US Army Colonel Wayne Malotto said that two people were slightly injured in a rocket attack on Al-Assad Air Force Base in western Iraq. The rocket landed on and around the base. He said earlier that three people were injured.

The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said that the two injured were U.S. soldiers. One of the officials added that one person had a concussion and the other had minor cuts.

Iraqi security sources told Reuters that early Thursday, two rockets were launched at the US Embassy in the Green Zone of Baghdad.

One of the sources said that the embassy’s anti-rocket system had diverted the direction of one of the rockets-a security officer with an office in the Green Zone. Security officials said the second rocket landed near the perimeter of the area.

The source said that the embassy building in the area has sounded an alarm, and there are government buildings and foreign missions in the area.

In Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the United States, stated that drones attacked the Omar oil field in the eastern region bordering Iraq, but the U.S. military was attacked by rockets on June 28, but was not injured.

The Pentagon stated that a drone was shot down in eastern Syria, and no American soldiers were injured or damaged.

Iraqi military officials said that the speed of recent attacks on US military bases with rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles carrying explosives is unprecedented.

Iraqi military sources said that a rocket launcher fixed to the back of a truck was used in the attack on Wednesday, and the rocket launcher was found on a burning farmland nearby.

Kurdish security sources said that on Tuesday, a drone attacked Erbil Airport in northern Iraq, targeting a US base inside the airport.

On Monday, three rockets also landed on Ain al-Asad, causing no casualties.

upgrade

The United States has been in indirect talks with Iran, aiming to get the two countries to re-comply with the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, which was abandoned by then-President Donald Trump. The date for the next round of talks has not yet been determined, and the talks will be adjourned on June 20.

Hamdi Malik, an associate researcher at the Washington Institute and an expert on Iraq’s Shiite militia issues, said the attacks were part of a coordinated escalation of the Iraqi militia supported by Iran.

The attempt to attack eastern Syria appears to be the first example of simultaneous operations by both countries.

“In my opinion, they have Iran’s green light to escalate, especially considering that the nuclear talks are not going well. But at the same time, they don’t want to escalate beyond a certain point-they are more susceptible to American air strikes than ever before. There are too many-they don’t want to make Iran’s negotiations with the West too complicated.”

The United States told the UN Security Council last week that it launched air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq to prevent them and Tehran from conducting or supporting further attacks on American personnel or facilities.

Iran denies support for attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and condemns U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed groups.