The US military’s first ‘Lee’ defense battle… USS Carney shoots down 3 cruise missiles
Drone attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq become more frequent
As battles and tensions in the Middle East increase due to the war between Israel and Hamas, threats to U.S. troops dispatched to the region also increase, and in reality, the U.S. is already entering a war, U.S. media reported.
A U.S. Navy warship intercepted and shot down missiles aimed at Israel on the 19th (local time), and U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria are also continuing to be attacked by drones, the Associated Press and CNN reported.
The USS Carney, a naval destroyer dispatched to the northern Red Sea, has already intercepted and shot down three land attack cruise missiles. Subsequently, several drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels were also shot down.
The Associated Press predicted that Kani’s operation would mark the first time that U.S. troops participated in actual combat to defend Israel in this war.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters the intercepted missiles were “potentially” aimed at Israel, but he did not yet know what their target was.
A U.S. military officer source told The Associated Press that he did not believe the missiles intercepted and downed in the Red Sea were aimed at U.S. warships. He asked not to be named, saying he could not discuss the military operation as it has not yet been officially announced.
But other drones launched over the past three days toward U.S. military bases on the ground were aimed at U.S. troops. A drone launched in southern Syria on the 19th fell on a US military unit, but fortunately only minor injuries occurred.
The Israeli-Palestinian war, which started with a surprise attack by Hamas on the 7th, is becoming even more heated as Muslim countries around the world join anti-Israel protests after hundreds of people died in the bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
However, the Israeli government eventually denied that it had ever bombed Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip, and the U.S. government also provided support, saying that it was not the Israeli military’s responsibility after an intelligence investigation.
However, over the past few days, enraged Arab armed groups, including Hezbollah and Houthi rebels, have begun threatening Israel, siding with Palestine. Since the 17th, there have been at least four drone attacks on US military facilities in Iraq and Syria.
These units are where the U.S. military dispatches training instructors to local troops to support the war against the Islamic extremist armed group IS.
Because of these attacks, the United States and Western countries are very concerned that Israel’s war will expand into the entire Middle East war.
“That is exactly the situation we are trying to prevent,” a Ryder spokesman said.
Most recently, on the 19th, the Al-Asda Air Force unit in western Iraq was attacked by a drone. Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Movement armed group announced that the attack was theirs.
They claimed that they hit their target directly and accurately. However, a U.S. military officer said that although it was true that there had been an attack, it was still insufficient to determine the extent of the damage.
On the 19th, the al-Tanf fortress in southeastern Syria was also attacked by a drone. U.S. troops are stationed here to supervise Syrian military training and military activities for the war on terrorism.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced that one drone was shot down, but the other struck a military unit, causing minor injuries.
This area is a Hezbollah area in southern Lebanon, an important main road through which Iran-sponsored militants enter and exit, and a military base is located at the gateway to Israel.
US military bases and residential homes in eastern Syria were also attacked. Omar Abu Laila, a European journalist who runs the Deir Ezzor 24-hour news channel, reported that the Conoco gas field on the border with Iraq was engulfed in flames after three drones shelled it.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also acknowledged that there had been bombings and fires there.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.