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A drone targeted United States forces at a military base in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar on December 6, an American military official said.
“A one-way attack drone was launched against U.S. and Coalition forces at [Ain] al-Assad Air Base” in western Iraq, the official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP, noting that the attack didn’t cause any casualties or damage.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a coalition of Iranian-backed armed factions, claimed the attack in a statement, and said in a separate one that al-Harir Air Base in the northern Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan was also targeted with a drone on the same day.
The group has been carrying out its attacks in response to the U.S. unconditional support for Israel in its nearly two-month war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
After the end of a seven-day pause in the Israel-Hamas war last week, the IRI renewed drone and rocket attacks on U.S. forces in both Iraq and Syria.
In retaliation for the attacks, the U.S. military said that several strikes were conducted against Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria.
On December 3, the U.S. Central Command said that it launched a “self-defense” strike against Iranian-backed fighters in the northern province of Kirkuk, killing five of them. The command alleged that the fighters had been preparing an attack against U.S. forces.
In total, at least 78 attacks have targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17, ten days after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
The attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria will not likely stop as long as the Israeli war on Gaza is ongoing. More escalation is to be expected.
