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Syria’s military said a large-scale drone attack targeted its bases near the border with Iraq on Monday, describing it as the biggest such incident since the start of the Middle East war.
The army reported “a large-scale attack by several drones targeting several army bases near the Iraqi border at dawn today,” adding that most of the drones were intercepted.
“We are studying our options and will respond appropriately to neutralize any threat and prevent any aggression against Syrian territory,” the army said.
On Sunday, Assistant Defense Minister for eastern Syria Sipan Hamo said four drones from Iraq attacked a U.S. base in Syria’s Qasrak but were intercepted.
It was not immediately clear who launched the attack, though one possibility was that pro-Iran groups in Iraq were behind it.
“We hold Iraq responsible and call upon it to prevent the recurrence of attacks that threaten our stability,” Hamo said.
A day earlier, Syria’s army said it repelled another drone attack from Iraq targeting Al-Tanf, a base that used to house U.S. forces.
Another base in northeastern Syria was targeted last week. An Iraqi official said an Iraqi faction was behind that attack, and four people were arrested in connection with it.
In recent months, American forces in Syria have withdrawn from the Al-Tanf base and Shadadi in the northeastern province of Hasakeh and had begun withdrawing from the Qasrak base, also in Hasakeh.
Since the outbreak of the Middle East war, which began with a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said he is working to keep his country out of any conflict.
Iraq has been pulled into the war, with pro-Iran Iraqi groups claiming responsibility for attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq and across the region.
The region has remained on high alert since the United States and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing over 1,340 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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