Emerging reports in Iranian state media and from Iraqi and Russian sources have indicated the US base at Syria's Conoco oilfield in northeast Syria has come under fresh attack on Friday.
Additionally Sputnik’s regional correspondent has cited a series of violent explosions at the US outpost. The statement, though unconfirmed in other international sources, said the "American air defenses tried to confront the missile attack with their ground and air anti-aircraft weapons, to no avail… the American occupation army’s air force and helicopters, in the meantime, began flying over the skies of the towns surrounding its bases."
Iranian state IRNA said "the US military base has come under attacks by the Iraqi resistance groups in response to the Washington-backed Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip" on Friday.
Overnight, the US and UK launched a major assault on Iran-linked Houthis in Yemen, related to the Red Sea shipping crisis, and American bases in the regions are now bracing for a response from Tehran-backed militants.
Beirut-based media outlet The Cradle says that although Iraqi militia sources have yet to confirm the new operation targeting Conoco, "The attack comes just days after US forces carried out live drills near the Conoco base, aimed at training for potential attacks on the facility."
There are other significant rumors that additional bases in the region could be facing hostile fire, but nothing has been verified from the Pentagon or US Central Command at this early stage.
But what has been confirmed is the recent soaring number of attacks, according Military Times:
U.S. troops deployed to Iraq and Syria have come under attack from Iran-backed militias 130 times since Oct. 17 as of Thursday, according to the Pentagon, totaling 53 attacks in Iraq and 77 in Syria.
The drone, rocket, mortar and missile attacks have injured 69 U.S. troops, but a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday that no troops have been injured since Dec. 25.
"When it comes to U.S. forces in the region, again, we’re there for one reason and one reason only, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a fresh briefing. "And so we will continue to call on these Iranian proxies to cease these attacks, but we won’t hesitate, as we’ve demonstrated in the past, to take appropriate action to protect our forces should we need to do that."
Meanwhile, the White House says the US is not looking for a fight...
US 'not looking for conflict with Iran' despite Houthi strikes: White House
Ever since US forces began occupying Syria, the official justification for their presence has constantly shifted. While Trump famously said it was "to secure the oil" - the Pentagon has at various times cited an anti-ISIS or counter-Iran mission. It is also in the context of the longtime failed regime change operation targeting Damascus and Assad.
