Iraqi Shiite militia claims rocket attack on U.S. base in Syria

BAGHDAD, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi Shiite militia on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a rocket barrage on a U.S. military base in Syria's northeastern province of al-Hasakah.

The militia, named Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed in an online statement that its fighters fired rockets on the al-Shaddadi military base and hit their targets, without giving further details.

The attack by the Iraqi armed group is part of a series of retaliatory measures against the U.S. forces amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, the group's statement added.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, confirmed that explosions were heard in the al-Shaddadi base. There are no reports of casualties so far.

The incident marked the 61st recorded attack on the U.S. bases in Syria since Oct. 19, the war monitor added.

Earlier in the day, the White House said that U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the military to launch airstrikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq. The order came after a drone attack on Monday on a U.S. base near Erbil Airport in northern Iraq wounded three U.S. service members, one critically.

Later in the day, the Iraqi government condemned the U.S. airstrikes on Iraqi security sites, which killed a security member and injured 18 people, including civilians, according to a statement by the media office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani.