Series of assaults goal US personnel in Iraq and Syria

US diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria had been focused in three rocket and drone assaults up to now 24 hours, US and Iraq officers stated on Wednesday, together with at the very least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base internet hosting US forces, wounding two American service members.

While there have been no quick claims of duty for the assaults – a part of a wave focusing on US troops or areas the place they’re primarily based in Iraq and Syria – analysts believed they had been a part of a marketing campaign by Iranian-backed militias.Iraqi militia teams aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after US strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed 4 of their members final month.Two folks had been barely wounded within the rocket assault on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, stated coalition spokesman US Army Colonel Wayne Marotto. The rockets landed on the bottom and its perimeter. He stated earlier that three folks had been wounded.US officers, talking on situation of anonymity, stated the 2 personnel injured had been US service members. One suffered a concussion and the opposite had minor cuts, one of many officers added.Two rockets had been fired on the US Embassy inside Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Thursday, Iraqi safety sources advised Reuters.Read: Joe Biden to ship main coverage speech on Afghanistan: White HomeThe embassy’s anti-rocket system diverted one of many rockets, stated one of many sources – a safety official whose workplace is contained in the Green Zone. The second rocket fell close to the zone’s perimeter, safety officers stated. Damage is seen amid smoke following rocket assaults at Anbar province, in al-Baghdadi, Iraq July 7, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)Sirens blared from the embassy compound contained in the zone, which homes authorities buildings and overseas missions, the sources stated.In Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stated no injury was executed by a drone assault on the Al Omar oil discipline in an japanese space bordering Iraq the place US forces got here beneath rocket fireplace however escaped damage on June 28.The Pentagon stated a drone had been introduced down in japanese Syria and that no US service members had been injured and there had not been any injury.Iraqi military officers stated the tempo of current assaults towards bases internet hosting US forces with rockets and explosive-laden drones was unprecedented.Iraqi army sources stated a rocket launcher fastened on the again of a truck was utilized in Wednesday’s assault and was discovered on close by farmland set on fireplace.On Tuesday, a drone attacked Erbil airport in northern Iraq, focusing on a US base on the airport grounds, Kurdish safety sources stated.Three rockets additionally landed on Ain al-Asad on Monday with out inflicting casualties.ESCALATIONThe United States has been holding oblique talks with Iran aimed toward bringing each nations again into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was deserted by then-President Donald Trump. No date has been set for a subsequent spherical of the talks, which adjourned on June 20.Hamdi Malik, an affiliate fellow on the Washington Institute and a specialist on Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, stated the assaults had been a part of a coordinated escalation by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.The try and strike in japanese Syria gave the impression to be the primary instance of operations being carried out concurrently in each international locations.”It seems to me they have the green light from Iran to escalate, especially given that the nuclear negotiations are not going well. But at the same time, they do not want to escalate beyond a certain point they are more vulnerable to US air strikes than they used to be – and they don’t want to overcomplicate the negotiations Iran is holding with the West.”The United States advised the UN Security Council final week that it focused Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq with air strikes to discourage them and Tehran from conducting or supporting additional assaults on US personnel or amenities.Iran denied supporting assaults on US forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned US air strikes on Iranian-backed teams.Also Read: Iran begins course of to make enriched uranium metallic, attracts criticism from US, European powers