Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder has announced a concerning increase in hostilities in the Middle East, with U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria having faced 130 attacks since October 17th of the previous year.
In a briefing, Ryder detailed, “The total number of attacks to date has reached 130, with U.S. military bases in Iraq witnessing 53 of these attacks,” while American bases in Syria have been targeted in 77 attacks.
Additionally, Ryder confirmed that the number of attacks by the Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea has reached 27 since November 19th of last year.
Despite these rising tensions, the U.S. Department of Defense, commonly known as the Pentagon, has previously declared that there are no current plans to withdraw its approximately 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq.
This announcement comes in the wake of Baghdad’s declaration last week that it has initiated an operation aimed at concluding the mission of the international military coalition led by the United States in the country.
