WILL BIDEN RETALIATE?

Five rockets are fired from Iraq towards US military base in Syria

Two security sources and a senior army officer said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a small truck had been parked in Zummar border town with Syria 

 

By James Cirrone  

 

Daily Mail

Apr 21, 2024

 

At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources said. 

The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops.

Two security sources and a senior army officer said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a small truck had been parked in Zummar border town with Syria.

The military official said the truck caught fire with an explosion from unfired rockets at the same time as warplanes were in the sky.

'We can't confirm that the truck was bombed by U.S. warplanes unless we investigate it,' said a military official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident.

 

Pictured: A view of the base, known as Tower 22, which is operated by US troops as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, near Jordan's border with Iraq and Syria in the northeastern Rwaished District

 

This latest attack against U.S. troops comes a day after a military base in Iraq being used by a pro-Iranian militia was damaged in an explosion that killed one and wounded eight. 

Tension is extremely high in the Middle East as the war between Hamas and Israel rages on, and tensions reach boiling point between Israel and Iran.

Following an attack from Israel on Iran's Consulate in Damascus, Syria earlier this month that killed two Iranian generals, Iran retaliated with a series of strikes on April 13 in Israel that were mostly deflected by its Iron Dome. 

The US, a major ally of Israel, also helped to shoot down Iranian drone strikes.

Days later on April 19, Israel launched a airstrike against a major airbase and nuclear site in central Iran.

Now, both countries seem to be downplaying their attacks on one another, seeking to avoid a wider conflict in the region. 

Israel, though it may want to avert war with Iran, is still going full steam ahead with its operations in Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack that killed more than 1,160 people.

Israeli troops Sunday finished a two-day operation in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. An IDF air raid killed at least 14 people, including a teenager and a child, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The health ministry says 483 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or IDF troops since October 7, whereas the death toll in Gaza is much higher, now rising to over 34,000 people.