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☆ Rockets fired from Iraq towards U.S. military base in Syria, Reuters reports citing sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official told Reuters. At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official told Reuters. The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops. Another popular Telegram group close to Kataib Hezbollah, Sabreen News, later said there had been no official statement by the Iran-backed faction. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said more than five rockets were fired from Iraq towards troops at a coalition base in Rumalyn, Syria, but no U.S. personnel were injured.

Persons: Mohammed Shia, Sudani, Joe Biden Organizations: U.S, Reuters, Iraqi, White, Kataib, Hezbollah, Sabreen Locations: Iraq's, Zummar, Syria, Iranian, Iraq, United States, U.S, Iran, Rumalyn

☆ Fears Grow That Syria Strikes Could Spur Retaliatory Attacks on Israel and U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Current and former U.S. officials expressed fears on Tuesday that Israel’s airstrikes on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria could escalate hostilities in the region, and prompt retaliatory strikes against Israel and its American ally. Indeed, after the Israeli strike in Damascus, Syria’s capital, on Monday, American troops based in southeastern Syria knocked down an attack drone, a Defense Department official said. It was unclear if the drone was aimed at the U.S. forces, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. If it were, it would be the first attack by Iran-backed militias against American troops in Iraq or Syria in nearly two months. The official said there had been no further attacks overnight, but that Pentagon officials were monitoring the situation closely.

Persons: Ralph Goff, Goff Organizations: Israel, Iran’s Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Defense Department, U.S ., Pentagon Locations: Syria, Iran’s Quds, Iran, Damascus, Syria’s, U.S, Iraq

☆ Syria Blames Israel for Deadly Attack in Aleppo
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but it has previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of assaults on Iran-linked targets in Syria. Friday’s attack was at least the second deadly attack in Syria in less than a week. On Tuesday, airstrikes in eastern Syria killed several people. The Iranian state news media said that Israel was responsible, while the Syrian state news agency attributed it to American forces. The Tuesday strikes killed a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to Iranian state news media reports.

Persons: —, SANA, Ali Abdulhassan Naim, Yoav Gallant, “, ”, Firas Makdesi, Saleh al, Bashar al, Assad, al, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir V, Putin, Israel, Johnatan Reiss Organizations: Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, —, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Reuters, United Nations, Pentagon, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, World Health Organization Locations: Syrian, Aleppo, Britain, Syria, Lebanese, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria’s, Israeli, Damascus, Beirut, United States, Russia

☆ ISIS Affiliate Linked to Moscow Attack Has Global Ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five years ago this month, an American-backed Kurdish and Arab militia ousted Islamic State fighters from a village in eastern Syria, the group’s last sliver of territory. Since then, the organization that once staked out a self-proclaimed caliphate across Iraq and Syria has metastasized into a more traditional terrorist group — a clandestine network of cells from West Africa to Southeast Asia engaged in guerrilla attacks, bombings and targeted assassinations. None of the group’s affiliates have been as relentless as the Islamic State in Khorasan, which is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and has set its sights on attacking Europe and beyond. U.S. officials say the group carried out the attack near Moscow on Friday, killing scores of people and wounding many others. In January, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed scores and wounded hundreds of others at a memorial service for Iran’s former top general, Qassim Suleimani, who was targeted in a U.S. drone strike four years earlier.

Persons: Qassim Suleimani Organizations: Islamic Locations: American, Syria, Iraq, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, U.S, Moscow, State Khorasan

☆ Opinion | Inside America’s Shadow War With Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

You could hold a friendly regatta in the Taiwan Straits compared to where I just visited. I spent two days last week hopscotching in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter among seven U.S. military bases in western Jordan and eastern Syria with America’s senior Middle East Centcom commander, Gen. Michael Kurilla. What you have, instead, is the other Middle East war that began shortly after the tragic Israel-Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7. They have learned to arm, build, adapt and deploy some of the most sophisticated precision weaponry in the world. That weaponry, provided by Iran, can hit a three-foot-wide target 500 miles away.

Persons: It’s, Michael Kurilla Organizations: Chinese Navy, Air Force, U.S . Navy, America’s, East, ISIS, U.S Locations: Taiwan, China, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Iran, Iraq, U.S, Gulf of Aden, Yemen

☆ Close US partners in the Middle East demand air defenses after Iranian drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US Congress has already asked DoD to develop a plan to equip the Peshmerga with air defenses. Iraqi Kurdistan expects the US to appreciate such stances and provide air defenses, given the high stakes for the autonomous region. Ceng Sagnic, chief of analysis of the geopolitical consultancy firm TAM-C Solutions, said “several considerations” are involved in supplying the Peshmerga air defenses. Turkey may not object to an American air defense provision to Iraqi Kurdistan under certain conditions. Advertisement“Using recent clashes as a reason to request additional US air defenses is likely to be viewed negatively in Ankara,” Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program, told BI.

Persons: —, America’s, Masrour Barzani, ” Mohammed Salih, ” Salih, Ceng Sagnic, ” Sagnic, Mazlum Kobane, ” Ali Bakir Organizations: DoD, Service, Kurdistan’s, NBC News, Foreign Policy Research Institute, TAM, C, ISIS, ”, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Reuters, US Locations: Kurdish, Syria, Turkey, Iraq’s Iran, United States, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Iran, Iraqi, Erbil, Jan, Washington, Iraq, American, Baghdad, Ankara, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan

☆ U.S.-Led Coalition Blocks Attacks at Conoco Oil Field in Syria -Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Air defence systems operated by U.S.-led coalition troops based in eastern Syria halted six drone attacks targeting their base at the Conoco oil field on Saturday, a security source said. The source did not tell Reuters if there were casualties. Coalition troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who together fight remnants of the Islamic State group, have faced increased attacks by Iran-backed groups in Syria and Iraq since Hamas’s attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Another drone attack blamed on Iran-backed groups on a border outpost in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers. Photos You Should See View All 21 Images(Reporting by Orhan Qereman; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Persons: Mazloum Abdi, Orhan Qereman, Maya Gebeily, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: U.S, Reuters, Coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic State Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Kurdish, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Jordan

☆ Exclusive-US-Backed Force in Syria: More Air Defence Needed After Deadly Drone Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Maya Gebeily(Reuters) - A force that has been the backbone of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State said additional air defences should be deployed in northeast Syria after six of its fighters were killed in a drone attack it blamed on pro-Iran factions. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, said his force considered it "a dangerous development when our camps are targeted in drone attacks by factions backed by Iran." On Feb. 4, the SDF said an explosive drone attack by Iran-backed armed groups in eastern Syria killed six of their fighters. Asked whether he had requested additional military backing to fend off such attacks, Abdi said his Kurdish-led force would "require technical capabilities and an increase in the aerial defensive systems" deployed in northeast Syria. It holds a quarter of Syria, including oil fields and areas where some 900 U.S. troops are deployed.

Persons: Maya Gebeily, Mazloum Abdi, Jan, Abdi, That's, Bashar al, Assad, Phil Stewart, William Maclean Organizations: Islamic State, Syrian Democratic Forces, U.S, Hamas, SDF, Reuters, Pentagon, State Department, White, Islamic Locations: U.S, Syria, Iran, State, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Jordan, Kurdish, Washington, Islamic State, Turkey

BEIRUT (AP) — A drone attack on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six allied Kurdish fighters late Sunday, in the first significant attack in Syria or Iraq since the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes over the weekend against Iran-backed militias that have been targeting its forces in the region. The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Monday the attack hit a training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and accused “Syrian regime-backed mercenaries” of carrying out the attack. In late January, a drone attack by the same group killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more at a desert base in Jordan. The U.S. military launched dozens of retaliatory strikes targeting Iran-backed militant groups in western Iraq and eastern Syria and also struck the Houthis in Yemen. The attack late Sunday came two days after the U.S. military carried out strikes against militant targets linked to Iran in Syria and Iraq.

Persons: Omar, “, Sunday’s, Samy Magdy Organizations: Syrian Democratic Forces, Human Rights, SDF, Sunday, U.S, U.S . Central Command, U.S . Navy, Britain, Associated Press Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Kurdish, Iraq, U.S, Iran, The U.S, al, Deir el, Jordan, Yemen, Israel, Britain, Red, Cairo

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken began a diplomatic push in the Middle East on Monday for a deal that would pause the war in the Gaza Strip and release the hostages there, even as a drone struck a military base used by American troops and allied forces in eastern Syria. Mr. Blinken, making his fifth trip to the region since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, met in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the first stop on a trip that will also include meetings in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank. Speaking with the crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Mr. Blinken “underscored the importance of addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing further spread of the conflict,” the State Department said. It added that they discussed “an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Mohammed bin Salman, Blinken “, ” Organizations: West Bank, State Department Locations: Gaza, Syria, Israel, Riyadh, Saudi, Egypt, Qatar

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military has launched strikes on dozens of sites manned by Iran-backed fighters in western Iraq and eastern Syria in retaliation for a drone strike in Jordan in late January that killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens. A deadly strike on the desert outpost known as Tower 22 in Jordan near the Syrian border further increased tensions. The Euphrates River cuts through Syria into Iraq, with U.S. troops and American-backed Kurdish-led fighters on the east bank and Iran-backed fighters and Syrian government forces to the west. He said the strikes also hit an area inside the town of Mayadeen known as “the security quarter.”Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said the border strikes killed 16 people and caused “significant damage” to homes and private properties. There have been no new attacks by the Houthis since the U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Persons: Guard’s, Ali, Ein Ali, Deir, Rami Abdurrahman, Omar Abu Layla, Bassim, Awadi, PMF Organizations: Hamas, U.S, Guard’s Quds Force, Human Rights, Popular Mobilization Force, Houthis Locations: BEIRUT, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, U.S, Tehran, Deir el, Hassakeh, American, Kurdish, Syrian, Iranian, Guard’s Quds, Boukamal, Quriya, Mayadeen, Britain, Europe, IRAN, Washington, Gaza, Iraqi, Irbil, Yemen

Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed across the Middle East, mostly in countries with close ties to the United States. There were more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007, during the war that followed the U.S. invasion. Image Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in 2019. Credit... Nasser Nasser/Associated PressWhy are so many troops there? A military coalition led by the United States, including forces in Syria and Iraq, defeated it. President Biden has retaliated with attacks on Iran-aligned militants, hitting groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Persons: Jan, Al, Nasser Nasser, Biden, Israel —, Al Tanf, ” Gen, Hossein Organizations: U.S, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Hezbollah, Army, Air Force, Washington, Operations, Navy’s, U.S . Central Command, Associated, Islamic, U.S ., Pentagon, ”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Jordan, Iraq, United States, State, U.S, Al Asad Air, Iraq’s, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Azraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, American, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Israel, Yemen

☆ US forces hammered dozens of IRGC and Iran-backed militia targets with 125 bombs in retaliation for the drone attack that killed American troops
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The military action comes days after a drone attack killed US troops in Jordan. AdvertisementThe US military on Friday began strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, a US defense official told Business Insider. AdvertisementThe White House immediately blamed Iran-backed militias for the deadly incident and vowed revenge. The recent drone attack could have been an attempt to undermine the US hold in eastern Syria and to open arms smuggling routes through Jordan to the West Bank. AdvertisementSome US lawmakers have called for the Biden administration to take aggressive military action in retaliation for the Jan. 28 drone attack, including conducting strikes inside Iran itself.

Persons: —, CENTCOM, Joe Biden, Defense Lloyd Austin, Washington, John Kirby, they're, Biden Organizations: Service, Business, US Central Command, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Quds Force, US, Coalition, Pentagon, Defense, National Security, Institute for, West Bank Locations: Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, United States, Tehran, East, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Hamas

☆ Iraqi, Jordanian Foreign Ministers Hold Call After Attack on U.S. Outpost in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart on Tuesday, condemned an attack on a U.S. military outpost on Jordanian territory near the border with Syria, state media reported. Hussein and Ayman Safadi stressed the need to distance the two countries and the region from military threats by any side, Iraqi state media added. That attack killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. Iraq's government is backed by parties and militias close to Iran, though not directly by the hardline groups that have been firing on U.S. forces, Western and Iraqi officials say. Baghdad has condemned the attacks while also saying regional escalation would continue as long as the Gaza war went on.

Persons: Fuad Hussein, Hussein, Ayman Safadi, Israel, Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden's, Timour Azhari, Enas, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Reuters, Iraqi, Jordanian, Sunday, U.S, U.S . Defense Locations: Syria, Iran, U.S, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Hamas, Jordan, Israel, Western, Baghdad, Gaza

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis U.S. Blames Iran-Backed Militia for Deaths of 3 Soldiers in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The attack happened at a remote logistics outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan converge. The Pentagon declined to identify the service members who died or their units pending notification of family members. Central Command said it expected the number of injured to “fluctuate” as additional service members sought treatment. It was the latest in at least 164 strikes by Iran-backed militias against U.S. troops in Syria, Iraq and Jordan since the Oct. 7 attacks. It turned out to be a dud, but several service members would most likely have been injured or killed had it exploded, a senior military official said.

Persons: Biden, —, Mr, “, ”, Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Mr, Austin, Yemen —, Gen, Charles Q, Brown Jr, General Brown, Al, Charles Lister, Jordan, Al Tanf, Syria’s, Roger Wicker of Organizations: U.S, Hamas, ”, Pentagon, Command, Central Command, Resistance, Hezbollah, Joint Chiefs of Staff, ABC, Navy, Sunday, Army, Air Force, United, Operations, Middle East Institute, American, Troops, The Defense Department, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Congressional Republicans, Republican, Armed Services Committee Locations: Jordan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, U.S, Israel, Columbia, United States, Lebanese, Yemen, Aden, Gaza, Erbil, Red, Al Tanf, Islamic State, Azraq, Washington, Jordanian, Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran, Lebanon, Al, Al Asad Air, Roger Wicker of Mississippi

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Mix-Up Preceded Deadly Drone Strike in Jordan, U.S. Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Air defenses failed to stop a deadly attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan on Sunday because the hostile drone homed in on its target at the same time an American drone was returning to the base, two U.S. officials said Monday. The attack on Sunday killed three U.S. service members, the first known American military fatalities from hostile fire in the turmoil spilling over from Israel’s war with Hamas. At least 34 others were injured in the strike, which Biden administration officials say used a drone launched by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. The one-way attack drone hit near the outpost’s living quarters, causing injuries that ranged from minor cuts to brain trauma, a U.S. military official said. It serves as a logistics and resupply hub for the Al Tanf garrison nearby in southeastern Syria, where American troops work with local Syrian partners to fight remnants of the Islamic State.

Persons: Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Mr, Austin, Jens Stoltenberg, “, Al Organizations: Sunday, Street, Hamas, Senior U.S, ., Defense, Pentagon, U.S, Army, Air Force Locations: Jordan, American, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Germany, Al Tanf, Islamic State

☆ Mix-Up Preceded Deadly Drone Strike in Jordan, U.S. Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Isabel Kershner | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Drone Strike Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Jordan, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Vivek Shankar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The attack happened at a small outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 near the Syria border where the troops were based. Other details were not immediately available from the Pentagon’s Central Command, which issued an initial bare-bones statement on Sunday. In 2016, the American military turned Al Tanf into a small base. The Rukban refugee camp, with some 8,000 residents, is near both Al Tanf and Tower 22. Troops at Al Tanf have come under fire before from Iran-backed militias.

Persons: Biden, —, Mr, Al, Al Tanf, Syria’s, Alissa J, Rubin Organizations: U.S, Pentagon’s, Command, Resistance, Hezbollah, United, Operations, Pentagon, Navy, Sunday, American, Troops, The Defense Department, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base Locations: Jordan, Iran, Gaza, Syria, Israel, Iraq, ”, Iranian, Lebanese, Yemen, Aden, United States, Azraq, Al Tanf, Islamic State, Red, U.S, Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran, Lebanon, Al, Al Asad Air

☆ Iran-Backed Attacks on US Troops in the Middle East Since Oct. 7
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

About 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq and 900 in Syria to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State militants. Here is a timeline of major attacks since then:OCT. 18 - U.S. forces in Iraq are targeted in two separate drone attacks. OCT. 19 - U.S. forces in Syria bring down two drones targeting them, leading to some minor injuries. OCT. 26 - An Iran-backed militia launches a drone at an air base that penetrates U.S. air defenses and crashes into the barracks housing American troops but fails to detonate. DEC. 25 - A one-way drone attack in Iraq by Iran-aligned militants leaves one U.S. service member in critical condition and wounds two other U.S. personnel.

Persons: Ahmed Aboulenein, Diane Craft Organizations: WASHINGTON, Sunday, U.S, Islamic, DEC Locations: Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Israel, U.S

☆ Iran-backed groups in the Middle East and major US military deployments
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | Abbas Allawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The US has attacked Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, while Iran-linked groups have targeted American personnel in Iraq and Syria. The US, having been trying to pivot away from the Middle East for years, finds itself drawn back into the region. And in some places, including Iraq and Syria, the US military presence overlaps that of Iran and its allies. The US has around 13,500 US forces in Kuwait, the largest American military presence in the region. The US this month quietly reached an agreement that extends its military presence for another 10 years at the base.

Persons: Yemen’s, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Harakat, Sayyid, Al, Haq, Asad, Bashar al, Assad, Israel, Ali, Dalton Williams Organizations: UAE CNN, Hamas, Islamic, Navy, Marine Expeditionary Unit, Institute for National Security, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, National Intelligence, Badr Organization, Asad Air Base, Erbil AB, Al, Force, Fatemiyoun, ISIS, Syria Security, Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian Free Army, CNN, Gaza, US Air Force, Battalion, 163rd Cavalry Regiment, Ali Al Salem Air Base, U.S . Air Force, Washington, United Arab, US, Udeid, Base, Forward Headquarters, Combined Air Operations Centre, Prince Sultan Air Base, UAE, Al Dhafra, Al Dhafra Air Base, Gulf Air Warfare Center, US Naval Forces Central Command Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Iran, US, Iranian, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, Pakistan, Islamic Republic, Washington, Lebanon Lebanon, East, Lebanon, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Iraq Tehran, Baghdad, Al, Erbil, Syria Iran, Syrian, Pakistani, ”, Red, Saudi, Yemen’s, Kuwait, U.S, Palestinian, Arab, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Doha, Al Dhafra Air, Bahrain, Jordan, Incirlik

☆ Suspected U.S. strike in Iraq kills five militia members, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. air strike killed five members of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group north of the city of Kirkuk as they were preparing to launch projectiles at U.S. forces in the country, three Iraqi security sources said. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iraqi armed groups have claimed more than 70 such attacks against U.S. forces since Oct. 17 over Washington's backing of Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. The U.S. in November launched two series of strikes against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups who had engaged in attacks against their forces. Those strikes killed at least 10 militants who were identified both as members of shadowy militia Kataeb Hezbollah and of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an official security institution composed mainly of Shi'ite Muslim armed groups, many with close links to Iran.

Persons: Timour, Sharon Singleton Organizations: U.S, Hezbollah, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, United, Thomson Locations: Iran, Kirkuk, U.S, Syria, Gaza, Israel, United States, Iraq, State

☆ Suspected U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills 5 Militia Members, Sources Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - A suspected U.S. air strike killed five members of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group north of the city of Kirkuk as they were preparing to launch projectiles at U.S. forces in the country, three Iraqi security sources said. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iraqi armed groups have claimed more than 70 such attacks against U.S. forces since Oct. 17 over Washington's backing of Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. The U.S. in November launched two series of strikes against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups who had engaged in attacks against their forces. Those strikes killed at least 10 militants who were identified both as members of shadowy militia Kataeb Hezbollah and of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an official security institution composed mainly of Shi'ite Muslim armed groups, many with close links to Iran.

Persons: Timour, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Hezbollah, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, United Locations: Iran, Kirkuk, U.S, Syria, Gaza, Israel, United States, Iraq, State

☆ US forces attacked 4 times in Iraq, Syria within hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD, Nov 23 (Reuters) - U.S. forces were attacked four times in Iraq and Syria on Thursday with rockets and armed drones, but there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, a U.S military official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said U.S. and international forces were attacked at two sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone. In Iraq, multiple one-way drones were launched at the Ain Al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad and a drone was launched at a base housing U.S. forces near Erbil airport in northern Iraq. A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which analysts say is a catch-all for several Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups, had claimed attacks on those locations earlier in the day. As of Thursday, there had been 36 attacks in Iraq and 37 in Syria, the U.S. military official said.

Persons: Asad, Timour, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, Syria, Ain Al, Baghdad, Erbil, Iran, U.S, United States, Israel

With a power vacuum and years of civil conflict following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, militias grew and multiplied in Iraq, some supported by Iran. While he came to power with the Iranian-backed groups' support, he also wants continued good relations with the U.S. and has backed the ongoing presence of American troops in his country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a meeting with al-Sudani this month, warned of consequences if Iranian-backed militias continued to attack U.S. facilities in Iraq and Syria. An official with one of the Iranian-backed militias said al-Sudani put “great pressure” on the militias not to carry out attacks during Blinken's visit. But the U.S. military response to the attacks on its forces has been minimal.

Persons: Biden, Israel, Asad, Haq, Badr, Bashar Assad, Mohammed Shia, Antony Blinken, Sudani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, —, Qassim Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al, Muhandis, Qassim Abdul Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Islamic, Hamas, Pentagon, Islamic Jihad, WHO, State, Popular Mobilization Forces, Hezbollah, Iran’s, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Officials, Quds Force, Military, Associated Press Locations: Iraq, Syria, Islamic State, skyrocket, U.S, The U.S, Baghdad, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Al, Tehran, Boukamal, Maysulun, Deir el, Bulbul, Mayadin ., IRAQ, Zahra

☆ The US military is flexing its airpower muscles in the Middle East with supersonic bomber flights in the region
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US military's B-1 Lancer carried out another mission around the Middle East this week. The supersonic bomber has flown several missions around the region since the beginning of November. AdvertisementUS military B-1 Lancers have been busy in the Middle East this month. The B-1B Lancer is a multi-mission, supersonic aircraft that the US Air Force has described as the "backbone of America's long-range bomber force." A B-1 Lancer supersonic heavy bomber on a mission.

Persons: —, CENTCOM, Pat Ryder, Lloyd, Biden Organizations: Service, Lancers, Central Command, Kazakhstan —, US Air Force, Force, Pentagon, Lancer, US Air Forces, Washington Institute for Near, US, Gaza, US Air Forces Central Command, Bomber Task Force Locations: Egypt, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Europe, Yugoslavia, Iran, Syria, Israel, Ohio

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