The White House accused Iran Monday of “actively facilitating” attacks on US bases in the Middle East, as it expressed concern over the potential for escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
“An attack against US and coalition forces occurred early this morning in Syria. There were no injuries or damage,” a US defense official said, referring to the international coalition against the Islamic State group (IS).
The US official did not provide specifics on the attack, but a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said earlier in the day that it had launched drones against American forces at Al-Tanf and Al-Malikiyah in Syria.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House that “Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know that Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good or for that of Iran.”
“We know Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we’re not going to allow them to do that,” Kirby added.
The same group also claimed to have targeted US troops in Iraq on Saturday, an attack the United States said it could not confirm, while American forces shot down two drones in the country last week.
The United States has some 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of efforts to combat the IS group, which once held significant territory in both countries but was pushed back by local forces supported by international air strikes.
Source » armenpress