Rocket attack on US military base in Syria

Last Updated on April 22, 2024 5:10 am

At least five rockets were fired from the Iraqi city of Jumma towards a US military base in northeastern Syria. An armed group called Kataib Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the report of the British news agency Reuters, two Iraqi security sources and a US official said on Sunday that the attack was carried out on a coalition base in Rumalin, Syria.

However, it is not clear whether the rockets failed to hit the base or were destroyed before impact. It is not clear whether the rockets were fired at the base. However, no US personnel were injured in the attack.

It was the first attack against US forces in Iraq since Iran-backed groups halted their attacks against US troops in early February.

According to Reuters, the attack from Iraq came at a time when Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani returned a day earlier from a visit to the United States. During his visit to the US, he met with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Two security sources and a senior army officer said a rocket launcher mounted on the back of a small truck was parked in the Syrian border town of Jummar. The rockets are believed to have been launched from there.

An Iraqi army official said the wrecked truck had been impounded for further investigation. Preliminary investigation revealed that the truck was destroyed in an airstrike.

The armed groups suspended the offensive for nearly three months as they saw progress in talks to end the US-led military coalition in Iraq. A group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah claimed in a Telegram group post that they started attacking again as there was no result of that discussion.

The attack came after an explosion at a military base in Iraq early Saturday killed a member of the Iraqi security forces, backed by armed groups in Iran.