Bases housing US troops attacked in Syria, Iraq; 2 hurt

Baghdad, July 7

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US-backed Syrian fighters and American troops foiled an attack with drones on Wednesday on a base housing members of the US-led coalition in eastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces said. In neighbouring Iraq, rockets hit a base housing US troops, inflicting two minor injuries.

The attacks come as tension has been on the rise between US troops and Iran-backed fighters after American airstrikes in eastern Syria killed four Iraqi fighters late last month in areas along the Syria-Iraq border. The Pentagon said targets attacked on June 27, were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq.

The spokesman for the US-led coalition Col. Wayne Marotto said that Al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq was attacked early in the afternoon by 14 rockets that landed on the base and its perimeter, prompting the activation of defensive measures. Iraq’s government called it a “terrorist attack” and a “flagrant violation” of Iraqi laws. — Agencies