Explosions Reported At U.S. Helicopter Base In Northeastern Syria
Late on April 26, a series of explosions were heard at a key base of the United State-led coalition in Syria’s northeastern region.
Some Syrian news sources said that the base, which is located in the southern outskirts of the town of al-Shaddadi in the southern al-Hasakah countryside, came under attack. However, other sources reported that the explosions were the result of a live-fire exercise by the U.S.-led coalition.
A photo that surfaced online showed a large column of black smoke rising from the base. The coalition is yet to clarify what happened in an official statement.
The al-Shaddadi base is located within a large gas and an oil field. The base hosts one of the coalition’s main heliports in the region. Nearly a dozen attack and transport helicopters are usually deployed there.
A rocket attack targeted the U.S.-led coalition Mission Support Site Conoco, a gas plant in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, on April 10. The attack didn’t result in any losses. Still, the coalition said that it retaliated.
Tensions have been growing in northeastern Syria for a while now. Last month, the region experienced a deadly confrontation.
Iranian-backed forces attacked three coalition bases in Deir Ezzor and al-Hasakah with rockets and drones on March 23 and 24. The attacks claimed the life of a U.S. military contractor and left 23 U.S. service members and a second U.S. contractor wounded.
The U.S. Central Command responded to the attacks by carrying out a series of strikes against alleged IRGC positions in Deir Ezzor. At least eight Iran-aligned fighters were killed.
Some 900 U.S. troops are currently in Syria, deployed between key gas and oil fields in the northeastern region and a large garrison in the southeastern area of al-Tanf that blocks the strategic Damascus-Baghdad highway. Despite facing increasing threats, Washington appears to be determined to maintain a military presence in the war-torn country under the pretext of fighting ISIS.
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