Drone attack on US base in Syria, minor injuries reported

(NEW YORK) — A United States military base in eastern Syria was attacked by a one-way drone, according to a U.S. defense official.

“On Aug. 9 at about 5 p.m. ET, there was an attack using a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system (OWAUAS) against U.S. and Coalition forces at Rumalyn Landing Zone in Syria,” defense officials said.

Several people suffered “minor injuries,” officials said Sunday, including smoke inhalation, while others were examined for traumatic brain injuries. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, officials said.

Initial reports had not indicated there were any injuries in the attack, and an official had said medical evaluations and a damage assessment following the attack were ongoing.

The attack is the latest indication that Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria may have resumed attack on bases in both countries following a monthslong pause.

Social media posts have indicated that a fire may have resulted from the attack.

Earlier this week, five Americans were injured when two rockets struck the sprawling Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. The Pentagon has blamed that attack on Iranian-backed militia groups but has not determined specifically which group is responsible.

There are currently about 900 American military personnel still operating in Syria where they support local Kurdish forces in preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State. There are about 2,500 U.S. military personnel in Iraq also participating in a counter-ISIS mission.

Since Oct. 18, there have been close to 170 attacks taking place on a nearly daily basis as Iranian-backed militia groups target U.S bases in Iraq and Syria, supposedly in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war.

Those attacks largely stopped after Feb. 4 following large-scale U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and a drone strike that killed a top-level leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group that the U.S. held responsible for the attacks.

However, there have now been a small number of attacks on U.S. bases since mid-July that had not resulted in any damage or casualties until this week’s injuries in the attack on the base at Al-Asad.

U.S. officials have indicated that Iran may enable its proxy groups in the region to resume attacks on U.S. bases as part of a plan to retaliate for the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran last week that Iran blames on Israel.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that the U.S. was putting in place force protection measures “to protect our troops and also make sure that we’re in a good position to aid in the defense of Israel if called upon to do that. So you’ve seen us do a number of things to strengthen our force posture.”

“So we’ll see how this evolves, but I won’t speculate on any specific action by Iran or any other Iranian-backed group going forward,” he added.