US military base in Syria hit by missiles

US forces in Al-Hasakah province, Syria (Photo: Getty).

"In less than an hour, the US base was attacked three times, first with two missiles, then three more missiles were fired at the base. The US air defenses were unable to intercept the missiles," a local source in Syria told Sputnik on February 13.

In the third attack, "more than 10 missiles hit the base, causing a fire to break out," the source said.

According to the source, the US military responded to the incident by shelling the positions of the attacking forces. US attack helicopters were also deployed to patrol the area.

The US armed forces control territories in eastern and northeastern Syria in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah and Raqqa, where Syria's largest oil and gas fields are located.

Syria has repeatedly criticized the presence of US troops on its territory, accusing Washington of wanting to control oil fields there.

US military bases in Syria and Iraq have recently been repeatedly targeted by drone and missile attacks.

Earlier this month, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) claimed to have deployed a drone to attack a US military base near the Al-Omar oil field in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. IRI is an alliance of Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

IRI is believed to have carried out more than 150 attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria over the past three months, since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out.

Last month, US officials also accused the Islamic Resistance in Iraq of being behind a drone attack on a US air base in Jordan that killed three soldiers and injured more than 40.

This is the first time US soldiers have been killed in the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza broke out last October. Previously, US bases in Syria and Iraq were also hit by fire.

In response to the attacks on military bases, the US has launched a series of strikes on targets of pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq and Syria. Washington has declared that this is only the beginning of a retaliatory campaign.

The US declared that it always supports Israel and is ready to provide military aid to help Israel respond to Hamas.

The White House has accused Iran of "actively facilitating" Tehran-backed groups to carry out missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria.

The US currently maintains 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq. Washington says it is carrying out a mission to advise and assist local forces to prevent the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).

Security analysts say there are growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread across the Middle East and make US military bases targets for attack.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/can-cu-quan-su-my-o-syria-bi-doi-ten-lua-20240214073319207.htm