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Suicide Drones Target "International Coalition" Base in Northeast Hasakah
Suicide Drones Target "International Coalition" Base in Northeast Hasakah
Local sources reported that suicide drones targeted the "International Coalition" base, which houses U.S. forces, in Khirab al-Jir in the Rmelan countryside, northeast of Hasakah. This was preceded by intensive U.S. aircraft activity along the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Photos and videos showed fires and smoke rising from the base, with initial reports indicating that vehicles were burned and American soldiers were injured.
The local "Khabour" network announced that the attack was carried out by an unidentified booby-trapped drone, while coalition forces shot down another drone that was flying over the base. The "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" confirmed that the drones were launched by Iranian-backed militias from within Iraqi territory, noting that the attack caused material losses, and fires continued for over 40 minutes before being extinguished.
The observatory added that U.S. forces had prior knowledge of threats against their bases, leading to an increase in helicopter and warplane flights before the attack. Despite this, the attacking drones managed to reach their targets without being intercepted by the base's air defenses.
According to "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" statistics, U.S. bases in Syria have been subjected to 135 attacks by Iranian militias since last October 19, including 36 attacks on the Al-Omar oil field base, 40 attacks on the Conoco gas plant base, 20 attacks on the Khirab al-Jir base, 17 attacks on the Al-Tanf base, and 16 attacks on the Al-Shaddadi base.
A few days ago, at least five American soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, in a rocket attack on the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq's Anbar province. The United States accused Iranian-backed militias of being responsible for the attack.
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As of the time of this report, the U.S. Department of Defense had not issued any official statement regarding the attack, and it was unclear whether Iranian-backed militias carried out the attack in response to the increasing tension between Iran and Israel. The attack on the Khirab al-Jir base comes amid ongoing escalation between Iran and its militias and Israel, particularly after the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, with Iran vowing to retaliate for his killing.
It is noteworthy that attacks against U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq had ceased in early February after a series of escalations that began on October 17, following the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. The U.S. Department of Defense announced that its forces and bases in Syria and Iraq had been subjected to dozens of attacks using drones and rockets, with a militia known as the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claiming most of these attacks, citing U.S. support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
