Mortar Bomb event in Syrian Arab Republic on Mon 11th December 2023

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday announced having confiscated mortar launchers near southern Hasaka’s Shadadi town, a day after joint bases of the Kurdish-led force and the US-led coalition in the area were attacked.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Monday said it had attacked the coalition bases in Shadadi with a salvo of rockets. The group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on American interests in Iraq and Syria over the past two months, condemning the American government’s unwavering support for Israel in its war against Gaza.

A US official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity confirmed that “several rockets” had targeted the base in Shadadi.

“During the meticulous combing operation, our forces successfully located several mortar launchers close to the village of Adla, south of the town of Shadadi,” read a statement from the SDF.

In addition to the strikes on the joint bases, heavily populated villages in the vicinity of Shadadi were also attacked with mortar shells on Monday, said the SDF, reaffirming its commitment to pursuing and arresting the perpetrators, which the statement referred to as “terrorists”.

On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that there have been at least 78 rocket and drone attacks against US troops based in Iraq and Syria since October 17, causing injuries to at least 66 personnel.

Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared territorially defeated in 2019.