US warship intercepts missiles headed towards Israel; Washington reports attacks on its bases in Iraq, Syria

The American troops stationed in Iraq and Syria have been attacked in recent days in the wake of regional tensions that erupted following the state of war in Israel that began October 7, the US officials said on Thursday (Oct 19).

The US has deployed its naval power in West Asiain the past two weeks, including two aircraft carriers, other warships and about 2,000 Marine personnel with the objective of bolstering Israel's maritime strength in the region.

How American troops are being targeted in Iraq and Syria?

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On Wednesday (Oct 18), a drone hit US forces in Syria resulting in minor injuries, while another one was brought down.

During a false alarm at Al Asad airbase in Iraq, a civilian contractor died from a cardiac arrest, news agency AFP reported.

Earlier this week, the American troops reportedlythwarted multiple drones targeting troops in Iraq.

On Thursday, drones and rockets targeted the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts the US and other international forces in western Iraq, and multiple blasts were heard inside the base, the AFP report added.

"While I'm not going to forecast any potential responses to these attacks, I will say that we will take all necessary actions to defend USand coalition forces against any threat," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters on Thursday (Oct 19) during a routine conference with journalists.

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"Any response, should one occur, will come at a time in a manner of our choosing," Ryder said.

An AmericanNavy warship travelling near Yemen on Thursday (Oct 19) intercepted missiles and several drones that were launched by what Ryder said was the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. But the missiles were 'potentially' heading towards Israel.

A destroyer intercepted the three"land-attack cruise missiles and several drones", said a spokesman, while speaking to thereporters. The attack was launchedfrom Yemen and "potentially toward targets in Israel," he added.

The spokesman stated that the missiles were fired from Yemen were the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been fightingwith a government backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

According to the spokesman, no US casualties were reported and "we cannot say for certain what these missiles were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea."

"Our defensive response was one we would have taken for any similar threat in the region," he said.

"We have the capability to defend our broader interests in the region and to deter regional escalation and broader expansion of the conflict that began with Hamas' attack on Israeli civilians," he added.

Israel has called up a record 360,000 reservists and is intensifying its retaliatory action against Hamas in the thickly-populated Gaza Strip following a brutal attack by the militant group on Israeli civilians on October 7, which killed about 1,400 people, mostly Israeli civilians.

At least 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and 12,493 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza, the health ministry in Gaza said.

Potential link between Israel-Hamas war and attacks on US troops

Pentagon said he did not see a link between the rise in attacks and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"At this point, again, the information that we have does not show a direct connection to the Hamas attacks on October 7," Ryder said.

The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, and 900 more in neighboring Syria, on a mission toassist local forces in combating Islamic State.

Across the region, the scale of Israel's retaliatory action in Israel has stoked massive anti-Israel sentiment. In Iraq, the country's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, last weekcalled on the world to stand up to the "terrible brutality" in Gaza.

In past years, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq regularly targeted US forces in Iraq and the US embassy in Baghdad with rockets.

(With inputs from agencies)

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