“Drone” and American Forces: Behind the Attack on “Kharab al-Jabir” in Syria
Iran-backed Iraqi militias made a failed attempt to bomb the “Kharab al-Jabir” base, which houses international coalition forces in Syria.
A source from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command revealed that “the American forces managing the Kharab al-Jabir base in the Hasakah countryside, eastern Syria, successfully intercepted and shot down a drone launched by armed Iraqi groups early Thursday morning.”
The source, an officer with the rank of colonel, requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, added that “the suicide drone was launched at 4:00 AM and was intercepted by American forces before reaching the Kharab al-Jabir base.”
Regarding the movements and measures taken by American forces at the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province, western Iraq, the security source noted that “this situation is normal… the Americans may be fearing an attack on Ain al-Assad base, and these movements are natural as they are known to the Joint Operations Command.”
Due to the failure of the Kharab al-Jabir attack, the so-called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” has not claimed responsibility for launching a suicide drone toward the international coalition base in eastern Syria.
On Wednesday evening, this group announced conducting three military operations using drones to target what it described as “vital” locations in Israel.
The Shiite armed Iraqi groups claim to bomb American bases under the pretext of their military support for Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah, which are classified as terrorist organizations by the United States and Western countries.
In one of its statements, the group mentioned that it “struck a target in the occupied Syrian Golan” on Wednesday evening, asserting that it “will continue its operations to strike the enemies’ strongholds at an increasing pace.”
In a second statement, it added that it “also struck a vital target in Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) in Israel” using drones, claiming it “achieved direct hits on the specified target.”
Deployment of American Forces
Additionally, two American officials told Reuters that the deployment of a small number of American troops in the Middle East, announced earlier this week, could help the U.S. military prepare for scenarios such as evacuating citizens from Lebanon.
The officials stated that this step is precautionary and comes at a time when President Joe Biden warned of the risk of an outbreak of a large-scale war, while Israel has publicly discussed a potential ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
While Washington has urged American citizens to leave Lebanon, the U.S. State Department has not ordered the evacuation of its personnel from there and has not yet requested any assistance from the U.S. military for evacuating citizens, according to American officials.
However, Britain, a close ally of the United States, announced on Wednesday that it was sending troops to Cyprus to assist in the evacuation of its citizens stranded in Lebanon.
The two officials noted that the additional American forces being deployed to the Middle East are also heading to Cyprus, consisting of dozens of soldiers.
The Israeli army stated on Wednesday that airstrikes in Lebanon would continue to destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure and pave the way for a potential ground operation.
This week, Israeli strikes targeted leaders of Hezbollah and hit hundreds of sites deep inside Lebanon, prompting hundreds of thousands to flee the border area, while the Lebanese group launched a barrage of rockets at Israel.
