US troops in eastern Syria return fire after missile attacks — British war monitor

US troops stationed in eastern Syria have returned fire after they were attacked with at least ten missiles, a UK-based war monitor reports, noting that this was the second attack in two days.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the American forces fired heavy artillery shells at “regime and Iranian forces” who attacked bases hosting troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition in the Deir Ezzor area near the border with Iraq as fighter jets scour the region.

Yesterday the war monitor said that at least one rocket had landed near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor province.

Such attacks by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq were frequent early in the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel, but since then have largely halted.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.

The latest attack comes after a security meeting this week between Iraqi and US officials in Washington on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq. Iran-backed groups have demanded a withdrawal.

AFP contributed to this report.