US troops attacked 55 times in Iraq, Syria since last month: Pentagon

The Pentagon is seeing an increase in attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, with a total of 55 attacks injuring dozens of service members since October 17, an official said, Report informs via Al Arabiya.

The attacks, 27 in Iraq and 28 in Syria, have resulted in 59 service members being injured. However, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that they have all successfully returned to duty and added that US forces had thwarted most of the attacks using air defense systems.

Pressed about the surge in attacks, Singh defended US policy - which has seen retaliatory strikes on warehouses and training facilities in Syria - that Washington feels deterrence is working against Iran and the militias it supports in the Middle East.

The Pentagon has not provided specific details about the nature of the attacks or the groups responsible but has said they have “Iranian fingerprints” on them.

Last week, Iran-backed Houthi fighters downed an American drone that the Pentagon says was in international airspace. On Tuesday, Singh reiterated that claim, batting down Houthi allegations that the drone was above Yemen.

Following the Hamas attack on Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin deployed two US aircraft carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean and ordered the augmentation of fighter jets. He also increased US force posture in the Middle East by ordering the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group closer to Israel, deploying a THAAD battery and additional Patriot battalions to the region, and placed more US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both warned about a “likelihood of escalation of violence” by Iranian proxies against US forces in the Middle East.