The use of more powerful ballistic missiles, which are far rarer than rockets or disposable attack drones, comes at a time of rising tensions in the region as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its 100th day. Since the start of the war, the United States and coalition forces have faced a growing threat from Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
As of Thursday, U.S. and coalition forces have been attacked more than 143 times in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 7; Saturday's incident appears to be the second use of ballistic missiles to attack the United States. The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an Iran-backed militant group, claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack. In a statement, the group underlined its commitment to resisting American "occupying forces" in the region and described the attack as a response to what it described as a "Zionist entity massacre" against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The group provided no evidence to support its claims. In November, militants in Iraq fired short-range ballistic missiles at coalition forces, prompting the United States to conduct airstrikes on facilities belonging to the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group, which is responsible for numerous missile and drone attacks against the coalition. American forces in Iraq and Syria are operating as part of a coalition aimed at defeating ISIS. However, the Iraqi government called on international forces to permanently leave the
soldiers after US strikes on Kataib Hezbollah facilities - the Biden administration's first attacks in Iraq since the start of the Gaza war - raised tensions with Iraq. Government. “We believe that restructuring relations by ending the presence will avoid greater tensions and confusion over internal and regional security issues,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Reuters earlier this month.
The UN Secretary-General's special representative for Iraq also warned that the region was at a "critical juncture" in the Gaza war, saying in a statement that Iraq was at risk of slipping further into the conflict. “Despite the government’s efforts to prevent this “Growing tensions and persistent attacks – from inside and outside Iraq’s borders – threaten to undermine the country’s hard-won stability and the progress made in recent years,” the press release said.
The Pentagon maintains that the presence of its forces is still a response to the Iraqi government's invitation and that nothing has changed. National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with al-Sudani in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this week. The two discussed "the importance of maintaining a strong bilateral partnership," a White House statement said.
The United States also faces separate threats in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out repeated attacks on international shipping lanes, including at least two attacks on U.S. ships this week, prompting some of the world's largest shipping companies to bypass the critical waterway.
The United States has carried out a series of increasingly frequent attacks on Houthi assets, and President Joe Biden said Thursday that the attacks would continue but acknowledged that U.S. strikes have not stopped the Houthi band.