Drone attack kills six Kurdish-led fighters at US base in east Syria

A drone strike targeting the largest US military base in Syria has resulted in the deaths of at least six allied Kurdish-led fighters.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that the attack occurred at its commando academy located within the al-Omar oil field in Deir al-Zour province during the early hours of Monday. They accused Iran-backed militias of launching the drone from a nearby area under the control of Syrian government forces.

An umbrella group representing Iran-backed militias claimed responsibility for the attack on the base, which took place on Sunday.

The US military, with approximately 800 troops in Syria focused on combating the Islamic State (IS) group, has not provided any comments or reports regarding casualties.

This incident marks the second attack following US strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria over the weekend, prompted by a deadly drone attack on a base in Jordan. 

The SDF, which has maintained control over much of northeastern Syria since defeating IS in 2019 with support from a US-led global coalition, stated that six of its “commando fighters” lost their lives when a one-way attack drone targeted their training academy around midnight on Monday.