Shia militia claims attacks on US bases in Iraq, Syria

Baghdad, Jan 3 (IANS) An Iraqi Shia militia hasclaimed responsibility for launching attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria.

The militia, named Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed in an online statement that its fighters launched a bomb-laden drone on Tuesday on a base housing .S-led coalition forces near the Erbil Airport in the northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, reports Xinhua news agency.

A statement by the regional Counter-Terrorism Service confirmed the attack and said that a booby-trapped drone was shot down in the morning while trying to attack a base near the Erbil Airport.

Also on Tuesday, the armed group claimed responsibility for launching drone and rocket attacks on four US military bases in neighbouring Syria during the day.

In separate statements, the group said that its fighters carried out three drone attacks on the American bases in al-Malikiyah and Rumailan in the al-Hasakah province, as well as the US Green Village military base at the al-Omar oilfield in Deir al-Zour province, while the fourth attack was a rocket barrage on the al-Shaddadi US base in the al-Hasakah province.

The attacks by the Iraqi armed group are part of a series of retaliatory measures against the US forces amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, according to the statements.

The recent attacks brought the number of recorded attacks on US bases in Syria to 71 since October 19, 2023, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.