© Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Air defence systems operated by U.S.-led coalition troops based in eastern Syria halted six drone attacks targeting their base at the Conoco oil field on Saturday, a security source said.

The source did not tell Reuters if there were casualties.

Coalition troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who together fight remnants of the Islamic State group, have faced increased attacks by Iran-backed groups in Syria and Iraq since Hamas’s attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

The head of the SDF, General Mazloum Abdi, told Reuters last week that the U.S. should send additional air defence systems to Syria to protect their bases, after six SDF fighters were killed in one of the drone attacks.

Another drone attack blamed on Iran-backed groups on a border outpost in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers.