US Army Reinforces its Defense in Eastern Syria

A US military patrol in northeastern Syria. AFP file photo
A US military patrol in northeastern Syria. AFP file photo
TT
20

US Army Reinforces its Defense in Eastern Syria

A US military patrol in northeastern Syria. AFP file photo
A US military patrol in northeastern Syria. AFP file photo

The mobile short-range AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air defense missile system is probably the best readily available system for protecting US troops in Syria and Iraq from the growing threat posed to them by enemy drones, according to Forbes.

In late February, photos purportedly showing Avengers being transported on a highway from Iraq to Syria emerged on social media. They were likely being brought to US troops in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor region.

With its FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers, the Avenger is designed for protecting infantry against low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles, helicopters, and drones.

“Until early last year, bases hosting US troops in Iraq had no air defense systems. Their vulnerability was demonstrated when Iran attacked two of them with ballistic missiles in January 2020, in a retaliatory strike for the US assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike.

The US has since deployed high-altitude MIM-104 Patriot missiles to these bases alongside short-range C-RAM (Counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar) systems, according to the website.

However, the Avenger is arguably a much more suitable system for providing ground forces protection against drones.

In early 2020, US troops deployed in Deir Ezzor’s oil fields were targeted by improvised drones capable of dropping small mortars, munitions which were apparently made using a 3D printer.

In a related context, Iran may seek to conduct or encourage limited, deniable attacks against US forces in response to perceived support to strikes on regional Iranian-affiliated targets, and to pressure the withdrawal of US forces from Syria, according to the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The DIA’s findings were cited in the quarterly report of the inspector general of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which covers events from late 2020.

The DIA reported that “Russia continued to conduct strikes against ISIS across Syria this quarter in support of the Syrian regime’s counterterrorism efforts.”

It said Iran has continued to maintain a presence in former ISIS territory in eastern Syria in part to protect its logistics routes and also to degrade ISIS’s operational capabilities.

“As the ISIS threat diminishes in Syria, Iran is prioritizing other goals, including pushing the United States out of the region and cementing its influence in the country,” the DIA added.

According to the report, although Iranian leaders were wary of escalating tensions with the United States before the US presidential transition, Iran likely continues to develop plans for operations against American positions across the region, including in Syria.

The DIA assessed that Iranian-affiliated forces probably retain the ability to attack US interests and partners in Syria with little warning.

It noted that Tehran has attempted to recruit local Syrians to collect intelligence on US and Coalition forces in Syria and could attempt to leverage these individuals to conduct attacks on its behalf.



UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)

The UN rights office said on Tuesday it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and convoys run by other relief groups, including the United Nations.

The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led fighters loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation.

The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the UN of misinformation, which it denies.

The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest UN figures.

"The data we have is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical human rights and humanitarian organizations," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

The United Nations has called the GHF aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.

The GHF said on Tuesday it had delivered more than 75 million meals to Gaza Palestinians since the end of May, and that other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs.

The Israeli army previously told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimize friction between Palestinians and the Israeli army by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the UN World Food Program said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by "hungry civilian communities".