In reaction to attacks on American personnel, the United States launched strikes against two Iran-linked locations in Syria on Sunday, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The US military has attacked sites in Syria it claimed were connected to Iran, which Washington accuses of supporting a number of armed organizations responsible for an increase in attacks on American soldiers in the Middle East, for the third time in less than three weeks.
“US military forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.
“The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen, respectively,” he said.
The United States targeted a Tehran-linked weapons storage site in Syria on Wednesday, and also hit two facilities in the country on October 26 that it said were used by Iran and affiliated organizations.
It is Washington’s assessment that none of the previous strikes resulted in casualties.
The United States says the strikes are aimed at deterring attacks on American forces in Iraq and Syria — more than 45 since October 17 — that have wounded dozens of US personnel.
The surge in attacks on US troops in recent weeks is linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, which began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.
Israel’s military responded with a relentless air, land and naval assault on Gaza that the territory’s health ministry said has killed more than 11,100 people — deaths that have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East, and criticism against Washington from Iran-backed groups.
There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.
The jihadists once held significant territory in both countries but were pushed back by local ground forces supported by international air strikes in a bloody, multi-year conflict.
The Huthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, claimed on Wednesday that they had shot down a US drone that was “carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support” for Israel. This is just one example of how the Gaza conflict has affected the US outside of Iraq and Syria.
Senior US officials have confirmed that one of the nation’s drones was shot down. Following the October 7 attack, the US quickly sent military support to Israel and increased US personnel in the area.
