Reuters has reported that at least five rockets were launched from Iraq’s town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday. The Agency quoted two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official.
The report stated that the attack was the first against U.S. forces since early February. That was when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops.
The Sunday attack came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the United States. The Iraqi Prime Minister had met with President Joe Biden at the White House.
Reuter reports that a post on a Telegram group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah said armed factions in Iraq had decided to resume attacks. This is after a near-three month pause after seeing little progress on talks to end the U.S.-led military coalition in the country.
Reuter reports that another popular Telegram group close to Kataib Hezbollah, Sabreen News, later said there had been no official statement by the Iran-backed faction.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said more than five rockets were fired from Iraq towards troops at a coalition base in Rumalyn, Syria. It, however, said no U.S. personnel were injured.
Reuter stated that the official referred to it as a “failed rocket attack,”. It, however, maintained that it was not immediately clear if the rockets had failed to hit the base. Or been destroyed before they reached. It was also not clear if the base was the target itself.
“Following that,” the official said, “an aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria carried out a strike against the launcher.”
Reuter stated that two security sources and a senior army officer in Iraq raised the alarm. It stated that a small truck with a rocket launcher fixed on the back had been parked in Zummar. Zummar is a town on the border with Syria.
The agency maintained that an army officer said the destroyed truck was seized for further investigation. But that an initial investigation showed it was destroyed by an air strike.
“We are communicating with the coalition forces in Iraq to share information on this attack,” the officer added.
But the Iraqi Security Media Cell, an official body responsible for disseminating security information, confirmed the attack. It said in a statement that Iraqi forces had launched “a wide-ranging search and inspection operation”. It stated that group is targeting the perpetrators near the Syrian border, pledging to bring them to justice.
Recall that Iraq, early on Saturday, launched attacks after a huge blast at a military base. The blast killed a member of an Iraqi security force that includes Iran-backed groups.
“The Force Commander said it was an attack, while the Army said it was investigating. It has been reported that there were no warplanes in the sky at the time.
source: Reuters
