Joe Biden’s Pentagon has finally come clean about the drone and rocket attacks aimed at U.S. military bases in the Middle East over the past week.
After days of silence, the Defense Dept. says that more than 20 American military personnel have been wounded in those attacks, Fox News reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed U.S. defense official:
The full extent of the injuries was not immediately clear. The defense official said several service members suffered from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) but have all returned to duty.
United States-led coalition forces have started live-fire exercises at military bases in Iraq and Syria, after more than a dozen attacks on American troops over the last week.
Military officials with the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said Wednesday that the live-fire exercises aimed “to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness” and would take place in or near the the al-Hasakah region in Syria and the Khalidiyah region in Iraq, Fox reported.
“On Oct. 25, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting ground operational exercises in or near the al-Hasakah region in Syria to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness,” a notice from CJTF-OIR said.
A separate notice similarly noted that coalition forces will conduct “base defense and ground operational exercises in or near the Khalidiyah region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.”
“The exercises come as U.S. troops positioned in the Middle East have been attacked 14 times — 11 times in Iraq and three times in Syria — between Oct. 17-24. The attacks include a mix of one-way drones and rockets,” Fox News added.
Meanwhile, support continues to pour in for Israel following a surprise attack against the Jewish state that left more than 1,000 people dead within the first 24 hours. Reports in the days following the mass rocket attacks and subsequent invasion from Gaza said that hundreds of Israelis were brutally mutilated before they were killed. Some had body parts chopped off while others were burned alive, reports said.
