The attacks are a continuation of a series of attacks that have seen Israel’s war in Gaza threaten to escalate across the region.

Several fighters from Kurdish-led forces were killed in a drone attack on a US base in eastern Syria overnight.

The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that seven militants were killed and at least 18 others were injured.

The attack follows US strikes to targets in Iraq and Syria this weekend. Armed groups allied with Iran said they had also attacked U.S. bases in Syria and western and northern Iraq as a low-level war with Washington simmered.

“This attack was the Iranian militias’ first response to American bases following American airstrikes on militia positions in various areas within the territories they control,” the Observatory said of the incident on Monday.

The SOHR added that “108 attacks” have been carried out on US-led Combined Joint Task Force bases across Syria since October 19. The US-led coalition was founded in 2014 to combat IS (ISIS).

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a different death toll, saying “six of our fighters died in a terrorist attack” with a disposable drone that targeted a “training academy in the Al Omar oil field.”

The ongoing series of attacks highlights the increasing danger that Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip could trigger a regional escalation across the Middle East.

That threat increased dramatically late last month when a drone struck a U.S. base in Jordan, killing three soldiers and wounding more than 40. Washington blamed Iranian-backed forces for the attack and promised retaliation over the weekend.

The US military struck Tehran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria on Friday and Saturday. US and British forces carried out attacks on 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday.

The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces “conducted a strike against a Houthi land-attack cruise missile in self-defense” and later “hit four anti-ship cruise missiles, all of which were prepared to target U.S. ships.” to fire “Red Sea”.

February 4 Summary of additional USCENTCOM self-defense strikes in Yemen

At approximately 5:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on February 4, U.S. Central Command forces conducted a self-defense attack against a Houthi land-attack cruise missile.

From 10:30 a.m. US forces struck… pic.twitter.com/ScZWEajJe2

– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 5, 2024

Washington has sought to confirm that it hopes not to escalate the regional risk, even as it says it is planning further military action.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on national television Sunday that Friday’s strikes were “the beginning, not the end, of our response and there will be additional steps – some visible, some perhaps invisible.”

“I wouldn’t call it an open-ended military campaign,” he added.

The Pentagon has also insisted that it does not want war with Iran.

So far, Iran has avoided any direct role in the Gaza conflict and its expansion, despite belonging to groups at odds with the United States.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for several months in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, said on Sunday that US and British attacks would not defeat them.

“These attacks will not deter us from our … stance in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media. The strikes “will not be without reaction and punishment,” he added.