Six U.S.-backed Kurdish Fighters Killed in Iranian Proxy Attack in Syria

U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria announced on Monday, February 5, that six of their fighters were killed in a drone attack by Iranian government-backed militias in the Deir ez-Zor region of eastern Syria. Farhad Shami, spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces, stated in a post on social media platform X that the drone attack targeted a command center of the Kurdish-led group at the U.S. base located in the 'Al-Omar' oil field, resulting in the deaths of six of their fighters. The Syrian Democratic Forces also reported that the suicide drone was fired from the western side of the Euphrates River, which is controlled by the government of Bashar al-Assad and Iranian-affiliated militias. The spokesperson for this U.S.-backed group emphasized that this deadly drone attack would not go unanswered. According to the Kurdish section of Voice of America, the attack occurred at 2 AM on Monday. In this context, Farhad Shami told Voice of America’s Kurdish section that the conflicts between the United States and the Islamic Republic should not lead to neglecting the fight against ISIS. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group composed of several Shiite militias supported by the Islamic Republic, claimed responsibility for the drone attack on the 'Al-Omar' oil field. The United States holds the Islamic Resistance in Iraq responsible for a deadly attack that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers, and in its first round of retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, it has killed over 40 of them. Over the past years, Iranian proxy Shiite groups have carried out numerous attacks against U.S. positions and bases in the region, but the intensity and frequency of these attacks have significantly increased following the terrorist attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7. The U.S. retaliatory attacks against the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian proxy groups in Iraq and Syria continue, with President Biden stating that the response will continue at different times and locations. Reactions to the U.S. attacks on the positions of the IRGC in Iraq and Syria continue; Biden reiterated that the response will persist in different times and places. Australia has expressed support for the U.S. 'retaliatory' attacks against Iranian-affiliated militias. Turkey continues its attacks on Kurdish militias in Iraq and Syria, targeting the water and electricity infrastructure in Kurdish regions of Syria. President Raisi's visit to Turkey coincides with the escalating crisis in the region.