Fatal drone attack hits Syrian base housing US troops, kills 6 Kurdish fighters

Six allied Kurdish fighters were killed in a drone strike on a base housing US troops in eastern Syria on Sunday. It was the first major attack in Syria or Iraq since the US launched revengeful attacks over the weekend against Iran-backed militias. 

They have been targeting its forces in the region for some time. According to the US-backed, the attack was planned by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that hit a training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour. 

However, they reported no casualties among the US troops. An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias is called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. They released a video where they took responsibility for the attack. 

They even showed them the launching of the drone from an unspecified location. In January, a drone attack by the same group killed three US soldiers and injured dozens of others at a desert base in Jordan. 

Noting this, US forces have launched a number of retaliatory attacks, targeting Iran-backed militant groups in western Iraq and eastern Syria. They have also initiated strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. 

The umbrella group has carried out tons of drone attacks on US military bases and troops in Iraq and Syria. The group demanded the withdrawal of US troops from both countries. 

According to Britain-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it has been noted that around 7 SDF fighters were killed, and about 18 others were severely injured due to a strike on Sunday. 

It is to be noted that the US and Britain launched a second wave of strikes against the Houthis, which resulted in the above-mentioned attack. As per the sources, the US and Britain hit 36 Houthi targets. 

The US Central Command issued a statement on Monday; he added, “The strikes were in self-defence and came after forces determined the missiles ‘presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.”

Additionally, the attack comes as tensions burst across the Middle East during the Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7, 2023.