Wreckage of a drone dropped at Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq (Reuters-Archive)

At least six new attacks have targeted US forces in Iraq and Syria, including a rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, as part of a series of operations that pro-Iranian factions say are a response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The new attacks came yesterday, days after five militants of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" were killed in a US raid near Kirkuk (north) as they prepared to launch an attack on a US base in the region.

According to a security source in Iraqi Kurdistan, the defenses shot down yesterday 4 drones north of Erbil before entering the airport area and the US base.

A Pentagon official spoke of two attacks yesterday targeting Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province (western Iraq), which houses US forces and others from the international coalition against Islamic State.

At the same time, three attacks targeted bases housing US troops in Syria, according to the Pentagon official.

The US embassy in Baghdad was hit yesterday by the first rocket attack in more than a year, according to Reuters.

Apache helicopters fire light bombs over US embassy in Baghdad (Reuters - Archive)

US accusations

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned the attack on the embassy in Baghdad during a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in which they discussed the Iraqi government's commitment to protecting diplomats and international coalition advisers.

The State Department also condemned the attack on the embassy and said Iran-aligned militias threatened the security of Iraq, U.S. personnel and partners in the region.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called on Iraqi security forces to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators of these attacks and bring them to justice.

Miller said the Iraqi government's commitment to protecting diplomatic missions is non-negotiable, as is the United States' right to self-defense.

Washington confirmed that groups it described as pro-Iranian have launched about 17 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 80.

The Pentagon confirmed that these attacks resulted in dozens of US soldiers being lightly wounded.

The U.S. military responded with five strikes in Iraq and Syria, killing militants from pro-Tehran factions.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies