Pentagon Reports Iran-Backed Attacks on US Troops in Iraq and Syria Since October 7
A Pentagon spokesperson has stated that there have been 83 attacks directed at U.S. troops in Syria and 57 attacks at U.S. troops in Iraq, since the Hamas terrorist group attacked Israel in early October.
Speaking at a news conference on Jan. 18, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh revealed that U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and Syria have come under attack on 140 separate occasions.
Ms. Singh did not specify the number of U.S. personnel injured in the spate of attacks. However, in mid-November, she provided an update on the number of casualties in similar attacks on U.S. bases in the two countries, saying a total of 59 U.S. service members were injured in 55 separate attacks since October.
Asked what the United States’ message is to Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East, Ms. Singh acknowledged that tensions in the region are high right now, but she vowed the United States will continue to call on Iran-backed groups to stop rockets and drone attacks, noting the U.S. military is “meeting those words with actions.”
Ms. Singh added: “We are being very public with our message to Iran and we want these attacks to stop, not only on our forces … in Iraq and Syria, but [also] our forces in the Red Sea and commercial shipping.”
Ms. Singh’s latest remarks on attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria came days after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for missile attacks on targets in the two countries.
The U.S. Department of State condemned the attacks, calling them a “reckless and imprecise set of strikes,” but officials confirmed that no U.S. facilities were targeted and there were no U.S. casualties.
Some 2,500 U.S. troops are currently deployed at military bases throughout Iraq and about 900 others are stationed in Syria, which shares a border with Iraq. The deployments are part of a U.S.-led international coalition ostensibly tasked with preventing a resurgence of the ISIS terrorist group.
Wider Regional Conflict
Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after the Hamas terrorist group launched attacks on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli civilians. The United States has deployed additional military resources to deter additional attacks on Israel and a broader conflict throughout the Middle East.
During a news conference, Ms. Singh also argued that an uptick in attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea does not represent a widening of the Israel—Hamas conflict.
“What’s happening in Gaza is—despite what the Houthis say, is very different from what they’re doing. Fifty nations, some of which have no geographic location or connection to the Middle East, are being attacked by the Houthis,” Ms. Singh said.
Meanwhile, the administration of President Joe Biden announced this week that it is re-designating the Houthis as a global terrorist organization.
In the final days of the Trump administration, President Donald Trump designated the Iran-backed group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. President Biden rescinded those Trump-era designations less than a month after taking office.
From NTD News
