Two separate attacks on US forces based in Iraq and Syria last week injured over a dozen American service members at a particularly tense moment in the Middle East.
The attacks — which the Department of Defense has attributed to Iran-backed militias — came as the region remains on high alert, waiting to see whether Tehran and its proxy forces retaliate against Israel in response to the recent killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
These incidents also came amid a sharp uptick in hostilities in Iraq and Syria. US ground forces had gone months without being attacked in those countries, but a mid-July incident ended that period of relative calm. Since then, the violence has increased.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on July 31 that he doesn’t yet “see a return to where we were several months ago.”
“Certainly, we’ll keep our eye on this,” he added. “The safety and protection of our troops is really, really important to me.”
AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad
The first of the recent attacks that resulted in unspecified injuries among US troops occurred on August 5, when two rockets fired by an Iran-backed militia struck al-Asad airbase in Iraq. Four US service members and one contractor were injured.
Days later, on August 9, a one-way attack drone launched by Iran-backed militia forces hit Rumalyn Landing Zone, a base in Syria. The strike injured eight American service members.
There are around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria to battle the Islamic State, Pentagon officials say. The terror group has been resurging following several years of decreased capability, US Central Command, or Centcom, warned last month.
Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in early October, US troops in these countries came under regular fire from Iran-backed militias. These attacks turned deadly in January when a drone struck a base in Jordan, killing three American soldiers and injuring dozens more. The US retaliated with widespread airstrikes.
The following months saw a period of relative calm, aside from a pair of attacks in Iraq and Syria in April. But with tensions on the rise, the past few weeks have seen a resumption of attacks, according to The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which tracks the hostilities against US forces.
US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Quince Lanford
Mission Support Site Euphrates, a base in Syria, was attacked three days in a row at the end of July, and a rocket attack was attempted against the site as recently as Tuesday, a US defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss these developments told Business Insider on Friday.
Altogether, there have been over 180 attacks against US forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since October.
It’s unclear what specifically is driving the sudden uptick in attacks on US forces, but there are a variety of potential factors, retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversaw military operations in the Middle East in the 2010s as the Centcom commander, told BI.
The uptick could be an attempt by Iran-backed militias to put themselves back on the map, so to say, and demonstrate their utility to Tehran, said Votel, now a distinguished senior fellow on national security at the Middle East Institute think tank.
But the attacks last week also noticeably took place at a sensitive time for the Middle East, as the region braces for a potential attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies over the dual assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
The US has moved additional firepower, including fighter jets and warships, into the area to protect both Israel and American forces if needed.
US Navy photo
Votel said that if Iran does launch an attack, it will likely include a more coordinated action with its proxy forces across the region. Such was the case the last time Tehran directly attacked Israel, in mid-April.
“I don’t necessarily subscribe to the fact that this is kind of the lead-up to it,” he said of the recent attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. “We could see something more like this in the future, though.”
The US has retaliated to past attacks that have hurt its forces, although it does not appear to have responded to either of the incidents that resulted in injuries last week. Given the extremely high regional tensions, it remains to be seen whether any action ends up taking place. The Pentagon has indicated that a response is on the table, though.
“We won’t tolerate attacks against our forces and will take all necessary steps to protect our forces,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters earlier this week. “As always, we will respond in a time and manner of our choosing,” he added.
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