US-backed Kurdish forces says six fighters killed in drone strike on US base

By REUTERS

FEBRUARY 5, 2024 11:01

Updated: FEBRUARY 5, 2024 19:16

A US soldier oversees members of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they demolish a YPG fortification and raise a Tal Abyad Military Council flag over the outpost as part of the security mechanism zone agreement, in Syria September 21, 2019. (photo credit: US ARMY/STAFF SGT. ANDREW GOEDL/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS) — A US soldier oversees members of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they demolish a YPG fortification and raise a Tal Abyad Military Council flag over the outpost as part of the security mechanism zone agreement, in Syria September 21, 2019.

(photo credit: US ARMY/STAFF SGT. ANDREW GOEDL/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq - an umbrella group of several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups - on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack.

US-backed Kurdish-led forces said on Monday that six of their fighters had been killed in an explosive drone attack by Iran-backed armed groups that came from areas of Syria's Deir al Zor under the control of the Syrian government.

Farhad Shami, a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said in a post on X that the drone struck an SDF commando academy at a US base at Al-Omar oilfield, resulting "in the martyrdom of six of our Commando fighters."

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq - an umbrella group of several Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups - on Monday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Al-Omar field, saying it launched the attack on Feb. 4.

Washington blames the group for a drone attack on a US outpost in Jordan earlier this month that killed three US forces. The US launched dozens of strikes over the weekend against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, killing about 40 people, the vast majority reported to be militants.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a ceremony to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. attack, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon January 3, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo)

Iranian proxies across the region have attacked Israeli, US sites

Iran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians have entered the fray across the region as the war between Israel and Hamas has intensified.

Lebanese Hezbollah has fired at Israeli targets at the Lebanese-Israeli border, Iraqi militias have fired on US forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, and the Houthis have fired on shipping in the Red Sea.