Pro-Iran Militias Target US Bases in Eastern Syria

A senior Kurdish military official from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that armed groups, likely linked to Iran, were responsible for rocket attacks targeting international coalition bases in eastern Syria on Friday night. 

The attacks occurred near the Syrian-Iraqi border, while explosions were also reported in the border town of Al-Bukamal after a military vehicle belonging to Iranian-backed militias was struck.

These developments follow recent threats from the Israeli military to launch a significant strike on Iran after an Iranian missile attack earlier in the week. Israel also conducted unprecedented air raids on Lebanon over the past two days.

Field reports and local social media pages indicated that an American fighter jet targeted a site in the "Hajif" mountain in southeastern Deir ez-Zor province early Saturday morning. The site, used to launch rockets at coalition bases, was destroyed after U.S. air defenses intercepted a rocket barrage and drone attacks near the Conoco gas field in eastern Deir ez-Zor on Friday.

According to sources, Iranian-backed militias had been using the mountain’s rugged terrain as a storage facility for rockets and launchers. Farhad Shami, head of the SDF’s media center, stated that these Iranian-linked groups fired the rockets at coalition bases in the Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah provinces. 

One rocket landed near a coalition base in Al-Shaddadi, Hasakah province, without causing any casualties or damage, while another rocket hit near Al-Shaddadi school, also without losses.

Shami also confirmed that U.S. air defenses at the Conoco gas field intercepted unidentified rockets before they reached coalition targets in eastern Deir ez-Zor.

The U.S. military and the international coalition, which continues its operations against ISIS, have faced a series of rocket attacks since the outbreak of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza and its spillover into Lebanon.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported explosions in Al-Bukamal following a drone strike on a military vehicle belonging to Iranian-backed militias. These militias, made up of fighters from Iraq and Lebanon, are supported by Iranian advisors and assist Syrian regime forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. 

Photos from the Observatory showed plumes of smoke and fire rising over the targeted site.

Since the onset of the war in Gaza in October last year and its extension into Lebanon, Iranian-backed militias in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor region, south of the Euphrates River, have increased their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces stationed north of the river.

In related news, the Deir ez-Zor 24 news website detailed airstrikes that hit Iranian militia positions in late September. The targeted sites, linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were bombed by unidentified warplanes, resulting in the deaths of 12 foreign fighters. 

The strikes targeted positions in the Harabesh neighborhood and Thardeh Mountain near Deir ez-Zor airport, as well as a headquarters in the Al-Amal neighborhood.

Following the attacks, Iranian-backed militias in the Huwija Saqr district of Deir ez-Zor and in the town of Mayadin began evacuating their positions, fearing further Israeli airstrikes. 

Analysts note that the strategic importance of eastern Syria, especially Deir ez-Zor province near the Iraqi border, lies in its role as a key land corridor linking Iranian militias’ operations in Syria and Iraq with southern Lebanon.

The recent attacks on coalition bases in the Al-Omar oil field and Conoco gas field, where 900 U.S. troops and multinational forces are stationed as part of the anti-ISIS coalition, are seen as retaliatory moves following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and, earlier, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.