US increases Middle East presence as drones target bases in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Overnight rockets targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, which houses US personnel, a military source from the base told Rudaw on Sunday as Washington announced a series of measures to increase its regional presence.

This follows a series of drone attacks by Iran-backed militia groups on several US bases in Iraq and Syria since Wednesday.

“Today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region,” read a statement from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday, saying that the measures came following a discussion with US President Joe Biden on the recent escalation of activities by Iran and its proxies in the area.

Austin highlighted that the measures taken, which include the redirecting of a carrier strike group to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in the area, as well as the deployment of additional forces to several locations across the region, constitute “regional deterrence efforts” to increase protection of US forces and defense of Israel. The additional forces deployed include a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and Patriot battalions.

CENTCOM confirmed late on Wednesday that two separate drone strikes targeted two of its bases in Iraq, causing minor injuries. The UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported that three drones targeted Al-Tanf garrison, which houses US troops in Syria’s Homs province. 

Iran-backed militias have warned the US that its forces in Iraq would be “legitimate targets” if Washington intervenes in the Israel-Gaza war. A shadow group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s drone attacks on Erbil’s Harir base and a rocket attack on Ain al-Asad in Anbar province.

On Saturday the group said it targeted Ain al-Assad once again with drones that “directly hit its targets”, and hours later it claimed that they had targeted US forces at a military base near Erbil International Airport.

Rudaw English has reached out to the US-led coalition for confirmation of Saturday’s attack, but they were not available for response. 

American military bases in Iraq and Syria have come under threat from attacks by rockets and explosive-laden drones, especially following the US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, head of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad in January 2020. The attacks have mostly been blamed on pro-Iran militia groups.

Iraq’s political leaders have blasted Israel for its attacks on Gaza, which have killed thousands.