Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests over Washington's support for Israel since Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people in a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7.
Israel's retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 5,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
"There was an attempted drone attack at Al-Tanf in Syria. Two one-way attack drones taken down; no injuries to US forces," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
The drones were downed using "defensive systems," he said, without providing further details.
An American defense official had previously said on condition of anonymity that an attack in Syria had targeted forces from the United States and the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
Neither Ryder nor the official provided details on the organization that carried out the attack, but a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said earlier in the day that it had launched drones against American forces at Al-Tanf and Al-Malikiyah in Syria.
The same group also claimed to have targeted US troops in Iraq on Saturday -- an attack the United States said it could not confirm -- while American forces shot down two drones in the country last week.
The United States has some 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of efforts to combat IS, which once held significant territory in both countries but was pushed back by local forces supported by international air strikes.
Iraq condemns attacks on bases hosting US forces
Baghdad (AFP) Oct 23, 2023 -
Iraq on Monday condemned as "unacceptable" attacks against bases on its territory housing US forces, which have multiplied since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
Since Wednesday, at least five rocket and drone attacks have targeted three Iraqi military bases where American troops are stationed as part of the international coalition set up to fight the Islamic State group.
"The attacks that target Iraqi bases that house advisers from the international coalition in Iraq are unacceptable," Iraq's military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement.
Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani had "directed all the security services to... pursue the elements responsible for these attacks", he added.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by a group called "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" on Telegram channels affiliated with Shiite factions loyal to Iran, the sworn enemy of Israel.
Militants from the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamist group Hamas poured into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday that more than 5,000 people, also mainly civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory bombardment of the Palestinian territory. Its death toll includes more than 2,000 children.
Without directly mentioning the attacks on the Iraqi bases, the United States, a close Israeli ally, on Friday ordered the evacuation of all non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Arbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Iraqi government is supported by pro-Iran parties, and has repeatedly condemned Israel's strikes on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 attacks.
But Baghdad needs to preserve its relations with the United States, which has 2,500 troops deployed on Iraqi soil to advise and train the Iraqi army.
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