American official says failed rocket strike targeted US-led coalition base in Syria

WASHINGTON — A US defense official says that a failed rocket strike was launched at a base housing US-led coalition forces at Rumalyn, Syria, marking the first time since February 4 that Iranian-backed militias have attacked a US facility in Iraq or Syria. No personnel were injured in the attack.

Iraqi authorities said early Monday that they were searching for “outlaw elements” who launched an estimated five missiles across the border from Iraq into Syria late Sunday night targeting the base. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Also on Monday, a US official said American forces had shot down two drones near al-Asad Air Base in Iraq. The circumstances are under investigation.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public.

From October to February, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched regular drone attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria, which they said was in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza and were aimed at forcing US forces to withdraw from Iraq.

Those attacks halted after three US soldiers were killed in a strike on a base in Jordan, near the Syrian border in late January, prompting US retaliatory strikes in Iraq, including one in central Baghdad that killed a militia commander. It was not immediately clear what prompted the attacks to begin again.