Syria: Largest US base attacked by series of rockets near Al Hasakah province

A multiple rocket attack took place on the largest American airbase in eastern Syria on Tuesday, 23 November, reported Iran state-affiliated media, Tehran Times. The latest attack on the US base in Syria came just days after an American media outlet reported that pro-Iranian forces carried out a drone attack on an American base, also in Syria, as a response to Israeli airstrikes on the Arab Republic. In late October, the US base of Al Tanf witnessed a drone attack. 

Separately, the Islamic World News Analysis Group stated that the US base in the Syrian village of Kharab al-Jair, five kilometres from the Yarubiya-Rabiya border crossing was hit with four rockets. At 2 AM (local time) on Tuesday, the rockets reportedly hit the American base in the village nearby to the border crossing in the eastern Syrian province of Al Hasakah. The media outlet cited local sources to confirm that the rocket attack took place on the outskirts of the US base. Witnesses have reportedly also said that following the rocket attack, US aircraft flew over the region.

After October attack, the US said it reserved the right to response

Meanwhile, the White House, which denounced the October attack, reportedly believed that the attack on Al Tanf military base in Syria was “deliberate and coordinated” and that the US reserved the right to respond. New York Times newspaper stated that the small US base was attacked by five “suicide drones” but only two of them exploded. Most of the US soldiers were evacuated from the base as they received a warning from Israeli intelligence. 

US officials even told NYT that the attack had been directed by Iran which supplied the proxy forces with the required equipment. Additionally, both US and Israeli officials said that the attack was a retaliation for multiple airstrikes on Syria carried out by Isreal. US had confirmed that no US military injuries or deaths were recorded after the coordinated attack was targetted at a small remote American military base in Syria.

Just days after the Al-Tanf base was attacked, a United States strike in Syria on Friday, 22 October killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar, said US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Major John Rigsbee. 

(IMAGE: AP/Representative)