US bases in Syria and Iraq face escalating attacks amid conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate, US bases in Iraq and North and East Syria have experienced a wave of more than 38 attacks since mid-October.

In a press briefing on Monday, Spokesperson for the US Brigadier General Patrick Ryder confirmed that these attacks on American bases in both Iraq and Syria have resulted in minor injuries to 45 US military personnel and civilian employees.

In Iraq, Iranian-backed armed group Islamic Resistance claimed responsibility for targeting four US bases in a series of six attacks, with three focused on the Ain al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq, and one striking a facility near Erbil Airport in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

Tel al-Bidar in North and East Syria and the southern Al-Tanf Air Base have also been subjected to attacks. Pro-Iranian factions also employed drones to target US forces in Qasrak but the attack was successfully thwarted by US-led International Coalition forces.

These aggressive actions against US bases have unfolded concurrently with the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, prompting the United States to raise its military readiness levels and deploy additional air defense systems to the Middle East region.