Aftermath of a Iranian missile barrage on US troops stationed at Iraq's Ain al-Asad base in early 2020. Photo: Tamara Qiblawi/CNN.
As resistance attacks against Washington’s forces intensify in West Asia, the Pentagon has deployed a significant war arsenal to protect its interests in the region.
US troops stationed at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq and in the occupied Conoco and Al-Omar oil fields in eastern Syria came under heavy bombardment by Iraqi resistance factions in the early hours of 31 October.
Reuters cites security and government sources saying Tuesday’s attacks “did not cause casualties or damage.” However, the Pentagon regularly delays reporting on deaths and injuries among its troops.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of armed factions allied with the Resistance Axis, took responsibility for the attacks.
US occupation bases in eastern and southern Syria have been coming under daily attacks by the IRI since 17 October, the day the Israeli air force killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians during an airstrike on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.
Ain al-Asad base has also come under regular fire by the IRI. The attacks come in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and in rejection of US support for Israel and its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
In response to this brewing crisis, the Pentagon has deployed a large number of reinforcements to the region to protect its interests. US warplanes have also been conducting airstrikes on several locations inside Syria.
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On Monday morning, US jets hit several civilian trucks that had made their way through the Al-Bukamal crossing into Syria.
The Iraqi government has also begun to prepare for a wider regional conflict, announcing on Tuesday that officials are in contact with several countries to purchase air defense systems.
“Iraq is preparing for possible Israeli attacks on its territory if the current confrontation widens. They do not want to become a new version of Syria, subject to repeated Israeli strikes without a response,” an unnamed government official told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Tuesday.
