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According to the Pentagon, US troops shot down two drones outside a military base in Iraq that was fired by Iranian-backed proxies on Monday.

The drones were aimed at the Al-Asad air base, situated in Iraq’s western Anbar province. This base has frequently hosted US military personnel and has been a recurrent target in regional conflicts. The Pentagon confirmed the incident on Tuesday, marking the first such drone attack on US forces by Iranian-backed proxies since February. “Iran malign militia groups conducted two unsuccessful attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria,” stated Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder.

In response to these provocations, the US has pressed the Iraqi government to bolster security measures to protect American forces. “We will not hesitate to defend our forces as we have done in the past,” Ryder said.

The drone attacks came closely after another attack on Sunday, where rockets were fired at US forces stationed in Rumalyn, northeastern Syria. The US military responded by destroying the rocket system involved, which Ryder described as a preventive measure in an act of “self-defense.” He mentioned that it was unclear if the rocket firing was directly targeting US forces.

This series of actions follows a brief pause in attacks against US positions in the Middle East, which had seen a relative decrease since the US conducted airstrikes against Iranian-backed targets in early February following the death of US military personnel in Jordan.