U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq have been attacked 23 times in the last two weeks, A Pentagon official said Monday.
“From October 17 to October 30, U.S. and coalition forces have been attacked at least 14 separate times in Iraq and nine separate times in Syria, through a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets, for a total of 23 attacks to date,” the unnamed senior defense official said, according to Department of Defense transcript of a media briefing.
The attacks began the day Hamas claimed Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza, even though subsequent evidence showed the hospital was hit by an errant rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza.
“Many of these attacks were successfully disrupted by our military, most failed to reach their targets thanks to our robust defenses,” the official said.
Four attacks came after U.S. F-16s bombed a weapons storage facility in Syria used by militia groups aligned with Iran to strike U.S. forces, according to NBC News.
The biggest toll from the attacks came on Oct. 18, when 21 U.S. service members were injured during two attacks on al-Asad Air Base in Iraq. All troops have since returned to duty. A civilian contractor died of a heart attack that day as well.
In response to the attacks, the United States has increased the missile defense protection at its bases in the region.
Iran said the U.S. should learn from the attacks that it is not wanted, according to the Times of Israel.
“The attack on American bases in the region, especially in Iraq, is the result of wrong American policies in the region, which we hope it will correct,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.
The attacks were carried out by those who oppose “the US presence in the region” and “American support for the crimes of the Zionist regime,” Kanaani said.
During a Sunday appearance on the CBS show “Face the Nation,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about future American responses.
“The United States will follow through on what we say we’re going to do. We said that if our troops were attacked, we would respond. We responded,” Sullivan said. “If they’re attacked again, we will respond again.
“And we are vigilant, because we are seeing elevated threats against our forces throughout the region and an elevated risk of this conflict spreading to other parts of the region. We are doing everything in our power to deter and prevent that. But I’m not going to predict what the future brings other than to say that if we are attacked, we will respond.”
As Israeli troops ground further into Gaza on Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told the German newspaper Bild that Shani Louk, whose abduction on Oct. 7 stirred global wrath after images of her body tossed in a vehicle were posted on social media, is dead, according to the New York Post.
Louk’s mother had earlier said she had information her 23-year-old daughter had been taken hostage.
“I am truly sorry to report that we have now received news that Shani Nicole Louk has been confirmed murdered and dead,” Herzog said.
“Her skull was found. This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head as they attacked, tortured and killed Israelis,” he said, noting the DNA records confirmed they were her remains.
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