Washington, DC [US] : US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the country carried out another set of strikes against targets affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in eastern Syria, CNN reported.
The US Defence Secretary said the strikes were directed by US President Joe Biden and targeted a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively.
The strikes, which took place late Sunday night local time, mark the third time in three weeks that the US has attacked targets in the region, as it holds Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for repeated rocket and drone launches against facilities housing US troops in Iraq and Syria, as per CNN.
There have been as many as 46 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17, and at least 56 troops have been injured. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday that the injuries were a combination of traumatic brain injuries and minor injuries.
Austin said: “The President has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”
On Wednesday, two US F-15 fighter jets struck a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria in what the Pentagon called a “precision self-defense strike,” as the military tried to send a message of deterrence to Iran while avoiding further escalation in the region.
A senior military official said the facility is believed to have housed weapons used in “many of the airstrikes that have taken place against our forces here in the region.”
And on October 26, the US carried out airstrikes against two facilities in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s IRGC and affiliated groups. The strikes targeted a weapons storage facility and an ammunition storage facility.
As per CNN, the US has attempted to send a message of deterrence to Iran through the strikes and the military presence in the region, including two carrier strike groups and an amphibious ready group, as well as additional air defense systems that have been moved to the Middle East.
The attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria have persisted, even as the US has tried to separate the conflict in Gaza from the rest of the region.
