U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have been targeted in recent weeks, with a rocket attack on al-Asad Air Base in Iraq injuring five U.S. military personnel and contractors. The attacks signify a return to hostilities between the U.S. and Iran’s proxies in the Middle East.
“We can confirm that there was a suspected rocket attack on August 5th against U.S. and coalition forces at Al Asad Airbase, Iraq,” a spokesperson with U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, told The Intercept. “Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment.”
The latest attack raises concerns about the security of U.S. bases in the region. Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October, attacks by Iranian proxy forces have resulted in casualties among U.S. personnel in the Middle East.
U.S. and allied forces have faced over 170 attacks during the Gaza war, with most occurring in Syria and Iraq. The escalating conflict has led to renewed attacks on U.S. outposts by Iran’s partners in the region.
The Intercept conducted an investigation and identified over 60 U.S. bases in the Middle East, ranging from small outposts to large air bases in 13 countries. Several of these bases have been targeted in recent years, resulting in casualties among U.S. troops and contractors.
The secrecy surrounding the locations of U.S. bases has raised questions about accountability and operational security. While U.S. officials refrain from disclosing base locations, Iranian-backed militias have successfully targeted these bases.
Attacks on U.S. bases intensified in January 2020 after the killing of Iranian General Qassim Suleimani. The tit-for-tat attacks have continued, raising concerns about the safety of U.S. personnel in the region.
Beginning in October 2023, an umbrella group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq regularly claimed that attacks on U.S. bases in that country were in retaliation for Washingtonâs support of Israelâs war in Gaza and were aimed at pressuring the U.S. to remove troops from the region. The attacks dwindled from March to July of this year, but after a July 17 drone attack targeting al-Asad Air Base in Iraqâs Anbar province, where U.S. personnel are deployed, a senior member of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said that attacks by the âresistance factionsâ had resumed, following a four-month ceasefire, because a deadline given to the Iraqi government to negotiate the departure of U.S. forces from outposts there had expired. (The Iraqi government reportedly wants U.S.
Starting in September, the troops will begin withdrawing and will fully end their work by September 2025.
The 64 Middle East bases identified by The Intercept have been active in recent years, according to Defense Department information or credible open-source intelligence. But without corroboration by the Pentagon, itâs impossible to know if all remain active today. What is clear are the sizable ongoing U.S. troop deployments in the region.
Despite the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and a drawdown of forces in Iraq, there were more than 30,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East in 2023, according to Pentagon figures.
As of June, there were more than 3,800 U.S. military personnel deployed to Jordan âto support Defeat-ISIS operationsâ and âto enhance Jordanâs security, and to promote regional stability,â according to the White House. More than 2,300 U.S. troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia to âprovide air and missile defense capabilities and support the operation of United States military aircraft.â The U.S. also reportedly has around 2,500 troops deployed to Iraq to âadvise, assist, and enable select elements of the Iraqi security forces, including Iraqi Kurdish security forces.â In addition, around 900 troops are stationed in Syria to âconduct operations, in partnership with local, vetted ground forces, to address continuing terrorist threats emanating fromâ that country. Approximately 75 U.S. military personnel are also deployed to Lebanon to âenhance the governmentâs counterterrorism capabilities and to support the counterterrorism operations of Lebanese security forces.â
Numbers of personnel deployed to the Middle East regularly fluctuate. Late last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered additional combat aircraft and warships to the region, in response to threats from Iran and its proxies to attack Israel in the coming days to avenge the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was assassinated while visiting Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Pentagon announced plans to send additional Air Force F-22 fighter jets and additional Navy cruisers and destroyers capable of intercepting ballistic missiles to the Middle East. Austin also directed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, now deployed in the Pacific Ocean, to relieve the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is already in the region, in the coming weeks.
âWhen the supreme leader [of Iran] says heâs âgoing to avenge,â we have to take that seriously. ⊠We got to make darn sure that weâre ready, and we have the capabilities in the region to be able to help Israel defend itself and, quite frankly, defend our own people, our own facilities,â said White House national security communications adviser John Kirby on âFox News Sunday.â
Nguyen, the Pentagon spokesperson, failed to respond to more than a dozen requests by The Intercept for updated information about attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East.
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