Drone strike hits US-led Coalition base in Syria

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, a drone strike targeted the Kharab al-Jir base of the US-led coalition in the Rmeilan area of the al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria.

It is the second attack in recent days against US forces in the Middle East after targeting Ain Al-Assad base in Al-Anbar, western Iraq, as the region braces for a possible new escalation after Iran and its allies vowed to retaliate to the killing of the head of Hamas Politburo Ismail Haniyah in Tehran and Top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr in Beirut southern suburb as well as the targeting of Al-Hudaida in Yemen.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the Kharab al-Jir base sustained a direct hit from the drone, leading to the outbreak of flames inside the facility. The attack followed a period of American helicopter activity in the area.

Rami Abdulrahman, SOHR's director, said in a press interview that the drone managed to reach the base and crashed inside it, adding that material losses are confirmed and that the fire continued for more than 40 minutes after the suicide drone launched by the "militias" fell.

No injuries were reported in the attack, and no group has claimed responsibility. However, American bases in Syria and Iraq have frequently been targeted by the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, which claims to act "in solidarity with the Palestinian people" and seeks to expel the U.S.-led coalition forces from the region.

Since October 19, 2023, the Observatory has recorded 135 attacks on US bases in Syria. These include 36 on the Omar Oil Field base, 16 on the Shaddadi base in Hasakah, 40 on the Conoco Gas Plant base, 20 on the Kharab al-Jir base in Rmeilan, 17 on the Tanf base, two on the Tal Baydar base in Hasakah, two on the US base in Robarba near the city of Malikiya, one on the Qasrak base in Hasakah, and one on the al-Wazir Rest House base in Hasakah.

Notably, the United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of ISIS, which in 2014 seized large swaths of both countries but was later pushed back.