عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

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.
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
TT
TT

Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.