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US Drone Destroys Iraqi PMF Truck in Syria

A screengrab from social media shows smoke rising following the strike against the PMF.
A screengrab from social media shows smoke rising following the strike against the PMF.
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US Drone Destroys Iraqi PMF Truck in Syria

A screengrab from social media shows smoke rising following the strike against the PMF.
A screengrab from social media shows smoke rising following the strike against the PMF.

A US drone attack targeted a truck for an affiliate of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in eastern Syria on Sunday, destroying the vehicle without causing any casualties, two Iraqi militia officials said.

The attack came amid increasing tensions in the region between the US military and Iran-backed Iraqi militias in recent weeks. The Americans have targeted militants who used drones and rockets to hit bases housing US troops.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is due in Washington for talks with President Joe Biden on July 26.

The Iraqi militia officials refused to say what the truck was carrying. They said the US drone first fired a warning shot, after which the driver jumped out, and a missile hit the vehicle shortly afterward. They said the truck belonged to Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which is active along the Iraq-Syria border.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

A PMF official in Iraq’s Anbar region confirmed that the strike was launched from the Alboukamal area on the Syrian side of the border. He alleged that the truck was carrying aid.

There was no immediate comment from the US military.

Syrian state TV reported the attack saying it was carried out by American drones. It said the truck was carrying food and there were no human losses.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the truck was carrying weapons and ammunition for an Iraqi militia and was hit shortly after crossing the border from Iraq. It claimed that the driver was killed.

On June 27, US Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Four militiamen were killed.

Days later, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada’s commander vowed to retaliate and since then several rockets attacks have been reported against bases housing US troops in Syria and Iraq.

Hundreds of US troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of the war against the ISIS group. Thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed in different parts of Syria to help President Bashar Assad’s forces in the 10-year conflict that killed half a million people.

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US Shifts $100 Million in Military Aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon to Bolster Ceasefire

Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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US Shifts $100 Million in Military Aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon to Bolster Ceasefire

Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese soldiers drive in Qana, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, southern Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.
In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan. 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months.
It is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a monthlong Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
“Successful implementation (of the ceasefire) will require an empowered LAF, which will need robust assistance from the United States and other partners,” the State Department said in the notices, both of which used nearly identical language to explain the funding shifts.
Both Israel and Hezbollah agreed to pull their forces out of southern Lebanon before the end of January, with compliance to be overseen by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
“US security assistance to the LAF increases its capacity as the country’s only legitimate military force and defender of Lebanon’s territorial integrity, enables the LAF to prevent potential destabilization from ISIS and other terrorist groups, and enables the LAF to provide security both for the Lebanese people and for US personnel,” the State Department said.
Pro-Israel members of Congress and others have in the past complained about any diversion of US assistance to Israel, although it was not immediately clear if there would be objections to such a small amount of shifted money.
At the same time, some of those who have been forceful advocates of Israel and critics of US assistance to the Lebanese military have often complained that it has been infiltrated by Hezbollah. The notices rejected that claim.
“US support to the LAF reinforces the LAF as an important institutional counterweight to Hezbollah, which receives weapons, training, and financial support from Iran,” the State Department said. “The LAF continues to be an independent, non-sectarian institution in Lebanon, and is respected across all sectors.”
In a third notice, also sent to Congress on Jan. 3, the department said it was going to provide $15 million to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to ensure that they become the primary law enforcement entity in the country and assist the LAF in controlling areas in the south.
That money will primarily be used to rebuild police stations, improve radio communications and purchase vehicles, the notice said.
The third notice also informed lawmakers that the administration would provide $3.06 million to the Palestinian Authority police to support its operations in the West Bank and $2.5 million to Jordan's Public Security Directorate to support its response to public demonstrations.