Speaking at a press conference on April 23, local time, Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said that the previous day, pro-Iranian militia groups conducted two air attacks. successfully against US forces in Iraq and Syria.
According to General Ryder, this is the first attack on coalition facilities since February 4, putting the coalition and Iraqi personnel in danger.
The Pentagon spokesman called on the Iraqi government to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of US forces in Iraq and Syria against attacks from pro-Iranian militia groups.
General Ryder emphasized: “If these attacks continue, we will not hesitate to defend our forces as we have done in the past.”
Watch the video of Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder talking about two unsuccessful attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria on April 22. Source: Reuters
Previously, an anonymous US defense official said US forces at a base in western Iraq were targeted in a second attack on the country’s military after more than two months of pause.
The above source confirmed that “on April 22 there was an attack on Al-Asad Air Base”, but did not cause injuries or damage. This is the second attack on US forces since February 4.
US troops in the Middle East have been attacked multiple times since mid-October 2023, but the cycle of missile attacks, drone attacks and periodic retaliatory strikes has stopped after the attacks. Intense US airstrikes on targets they believed were related to Iran in early February.
The latest attack follows another attack over the weekend in which missiles were fired from northern Iraq at a base in Syria that houses forces from the US-led coalition fighting the group. international terrorism, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
The majority of the attacks were carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of pro-Iranian groups upset by US support for Israel.
