A base of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Syria was targeted on Sunday April 21 by rockets fired in the evening from neighboring Iraq. A “vast search and inspection operation” was launched in the Iraqi province of Nineveh, in the north of the country on the border with Syria, to find the perpetrators of the shooting, a media unit explained in a statement. Iraqi security forces, who found and burned the vehicle used to carry out these launches.
“Outlaw elements targeted with rockets an international coalition base in the heart of Syrian territory, around 9:50 p.m.” (8:50 p.m. Paris time), the text says. An official in Ninawa province, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that "the rocket attacks" had been carried out from an area north of Mosul, in the Zummar district.
This is the first major attack against troops of the coalition led by Washington, after several weeks of calm. This winter, armed pro-Iran factions carried out dozens of rocket attacks and drone strikes against American soldiers deployed in the Middle East.
Questioned by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), Rami Abdel Rahmane, reported “several rockets fired from Iraqi territory towards the Kharab base Al-Jir” which houses “US forces” in northeastern Syria. These rockets, at least one of which fell within the base compound, according to Mr. Abdel Rahmane, were preceded by the sending of a drone belonging to pro-Iran factions which was shot down.
The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” singled out
The OSDH, which has a vast network of sources across war-torn Syria, pointed the finger at the responsibility of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a nebula of fighters from pro-Iran armed groups. It is this same nebula which carried out most of the attacks against American soldiers in the coalition between mid-October and early February in Iraq and Syria. In its press releases, the group says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
A drone attack on January 28 killed three American soldiers in the middle of the Jordanian desert, on the Syrian border. In retaliation for the attacks against its personnel, Washington toughened its tone and carried out several strikes in Iraq but also in Syria against pro-Iran factions.
The United States deploys around 2,500 troops in Iraq and nearly 900 in neighboring Syria, as part of the international coalition it created in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.
Sunday evening's rocket attacks took place in an increasingly explosive regional context, fueled by the war in Gaza and tensions between Israel and Iran. Early Saturday, an “explosion” on a military base in Iraq left one dead and eight injured, with security officials calling it a “bombardment” against the former pro-Iran paramilitaries Hachd Al-Chaabi. The US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) denied any involvement. Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army refused any comment.
