Source: rocket attack launched from Iraq targets US base in eastern Syria

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, several missiles were launched from Iraqi territory towards a US base in eastern Syria, a security source told Shafaq News Agency.

The source, on condition of anonymity, reported that the five rockets were fired from Hamad Agha village in the Zummar district, northwest of Mosul, towards the American base at Khirbet Al-Jir in the northern countryside of al-Hasakah.

The source further disclosed that the US aircraft are intensively flying along the Iraqi-Syrian borders.

The incident came after high tensions in Iraq between Iraqi armed factions and the government over the presence of the US forces in the country.

On Saturday, Iraqi resistance factions announced a temporary "media silence" as they await discussions with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani regarding the outcomes of his meetings in the United States concerning the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

Sources within the armed factions revealed to Shafaq News Agency that the "coordination body of the resistance faction" called all spokespersons and leaders to halt public statements, even regarding the recent attack at a Popular Mobilization Forces' camp in Babil.

The sources explained that the directive is to await PM Al-Sudani's return to Baghdad, where leaders of the armed factions plan to discuss the details of his meetings in Washington regarding the withdrawal of US forces.

"Following this meeting, a clear and public stance will be taken by the factions regarding the potential continuation or resumption of operations against US forces in Iraq." The sources said.

In January 2020, Iraq's Parliament approved a non-binding resolution urging the government to remove foreign troops from the country amid escalating tensions between Iran and the US and after the killing of the prominent Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad with the leader in the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, in an American strike.

There are 2,500 US troops in Baghdad for training and advisory missions. However, the situation has escalated after October 7.

Since the start of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has regularly attacked the US interests in Iraq and Syria.

The deadliest attack was in Jordan when Kataeb Hezbollah killed three American soldiers at a US base.

IRI stated that its operations are to "expel the American occupation" and in support of "Palestinian brothers."

So far, more than 195 attacks have targeted the US bases.

In a series of retaliation, the US military launched airstrikes on sites related to Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, killing members of Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq and commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon's Hezbollah in Syria.

Notably, activities had subsided since early February, a month after Washington and Baghdad announced the resumption of talks within the joint Higher Military Commission (HMC) to discuss the threat of ISIS, the operational environment, and the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces.

Now, with the Iraqi prime minister's visit to the United States to discuss security files, the escalation in the region is continuing.

In the recent Iranian attacks on Israel, Washington and Tel Aviv said that the Iraqi airspace was used; Iraq did not comment on the incident; however, Friday's attack on a PMF headquarters in Babil governorate raised questions about the US sending a message for the Iraqi factions to stay away from the Israeli-Irania conflict.

Washington denied any involvement in the Babil attack.