At least 13 deaths after bus attack in Syria 3:15
(CNN) -
A drone strike targeted the U.S. military at the At-Tanf base in Syria near the Jordanian border on Wednesday, according to a U.S. defense official.
The initial assessment is that there were no injuries as a result of the attack, but the damage assessment continues.
The United States maintains some 900 troops in Syria, spread largely between the At-Tanf base and the oil fields in the east of the country.
The base is located within a 51-square-kilometer "no-conflict zone" near Syria's border with Jordan, established by Russia and the US-led coalition to prevent the two sides from accidentally coming into contact.
The area has seen heavy fighting in recent years between US forces and ISIS, which has taken hold in the area.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
However, Iranian-backed Shiite militias in the region have frequently attacked the US military in Syria and Iraq.
The US Reasons for Airstrikes on the Iraq-Syria Border
In late June, during a period of heightened tension between the United States and Iran, rockets were fired at a US base in eastern Syria, and US officials were quick to blame the Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
The rocket attack came a day after the US military attacked facilities used by militias.
The United States carried out airstrikes against two weapons storage and operational facilities in Syria and Iraq due to the increased number of rocket attacks against US military and bases in Iraq.
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The first known action by the US military under President Joe Biden came in February, when it attacked a site in Syria used by two Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in response to rocket attacks on US forces. in the region.
Those attacks raised concern among lawmakers, who said Biden had not asked for the necessary authorization from Congress.
The White House had said the attacks were backed by Article II of the Constitution, as well as the Charter of the United Nations.
In late September, the United States carried out an airstrike against a senior al Qaeda leader in Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria.
--This news is in development and will be updated.
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