Pentagon: 27 attacks target US forces in Iraq, Syria

US forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets at least 27 times in recent days, as more US forces deploy to the region, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Tuesday, Report informs via VoA.

At least seven of these attacks were launched after US forces in the early morning hours of Friday struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.

The US strikes were in response to earlier attacks on US forces and were "narrowly tailored … to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

None of the attacks carried out since the US retaliatory strikes on Friday has caused casualties or damage, according to defense officials.

Another attack occurred Monday and used multiple one-way attack drones to target al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, said a defense official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity due to security sensitivities.

Multiple rockets were used in another attack on al-Asad on Monday, and rockets targeted US and coalition forces at two locations in eastern Syria as well, one at a base known as Green Village and another at Mission Support Site Euphrates.

On Sunday, a one-way attack drone was used against US forces at a base near al-Shaddadi, according to US officials.

Ryder said the Pentagon was deploying 300 more troops to the Middle East region "to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force protection capabilities."

"They aren't going to Israel," Ryder said.

Ryder and other officials have blamed Iranian-backed proxies for the near daily attacks on US forces.

"We know that these are Iranian-backed militia groups that are supported by Iran and, of course, we hold Iran responsible for these groups," Ryder said last week.

Austin told members of Congress on Tuesday that the United States maintains the right to respond at a time and place it chooses.