Syrian army says drone attacks targeted its bases near Iraq

March 30 (Reuters) – The Syrian army said on Monday drone attacks targeted several of its bases near the Iraqi border, a rare attack on Syrian positions since U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran a month ago triggered a war across the Middle East.

Damascus has been keen to stay on the sidelines of the regional conflict that has pulled in neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, where armed group Hezbollah is locked in fighting with Israeli ground troops, and Iraq, where Iran-aligned factions have launched drone and rocket attacks.

In a statement on Syrian state media, Syria’s army said most of the attacking drones were shot down, but did not say where they had come from. It said it was assessing its options to respond.

Syria sent thousands of troops to its western border with Lebanon and its eastern border with Iraq earlier this month. Syria’s defense ministry said the deployment was part of efforts to “protect and control the borders amid the escalating regional conflict”.

Over the last month, shrapnel from rocket interceptions has landed in several parts of Syria.

Sipan Hamo, the assistant defense minister for eastern Syria, said on Sunday that four drones from Iraq attacked a base in northeast Syria where U.S. forces are stationed, but were intercepted.

“We hold Iraq responsible and call upon it to prevent the recurrence of attacks that threaten our stability,” Hamo wrote in a statement on X.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Paul Simao)