US Troops Come Under Fire in Syria after Strikes Against Pro-Iran Militias

A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk,, Iraq, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk,, Iraq, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
TT
20

US Troops Come Under Fire in Syria after Strikes Against Pro-Iran Militias

A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk,, Iraq, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk,, Iraq, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

American troops came under rocket fire in eastern Syria on Monday, but escaped injury, in apparent retaliation for US airstrikes against Iran-aligned militia in Syria and Iraq.

A military spokesman said US forces had responded to the multiple rockets by firing back at the positions in self-defense.

"There are no (US) injuries and damage is being assessed," Colonel Wayne Marotto said, referring to the rocket attack. He did not say who was responsible for the attack on US troops.

Sources in Deir Ezzor, in eastern Syria, said an Iranian-backed militia group had fired a few artillery rounds in the vicinity of al Omar oil field, which is controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported shell fire by the militia against the US base, and said the coalition fired heavy artillery at the militia-controlled town of Al-Mayadeen in response.

Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the White House had defended the US strikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday as a way to tamp down on the risk of conflict.

"We took necessary, appropriate, deliberate action that is designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message," Blinken told reporters in Rome.

Sunday's strikes mark the second time the Biden administration launched airstrikes along the Iraq-Syria border region. In February, the US launched airstrikes against facilities in Syria, near the Iraqi border, that it said were used by Iranian-backed militia groups.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
TT
20

Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.