In conjunction with the first recorded attack from Iraq on American forces after a hiatus of more than two months, conflicting information emerged regarding whether American forces had carried out a military strike in northern Iraq in direct response to an attack on a coalition base in Syria. Explosions were heard around the American base at Al-Omar field in eastern Deir ez-Zor, Syria, early on Monday, following a rocket attack from Iraq for the first time in over two months, with five rockets landing near the base. The Iraqi Security Media Cell reported that the vehicle from which the rockets were launched was located and burned in Nineveh, and they continue to search for those responsible to bring them to justice.
Meanwhile, there were reports that the vehicle that launched the rockets was struck by an airstrike from the international coalition. An American official stated that a coalition fighter jet destroyed a rocket launcher in self-defense after reports of a failed rocket attack near a coalition base in Syria, adding that no American soldiers were injured. Security sources and a senior military officer indicated that a small truck equipped with a rocket launcher was parked in the town of Zummar near the border with Syria. The military official noted that the truck caught fire due to the explosion of rockets that were not fired while warplanes flew overhead. The official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, stated, "We cannot confirm that the truck was hit by U.S. aircraft without investigating the incident."
