President Biden on Sunday ordered airstrikes against two facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The strikes, carried out by Air Force F-15E fighter jets, are the latest in retaliation for daily rocket attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.
The US jets hit buildings in Abu Kamal and a safe house in Mayadin that serves as a weapons and ammunition storage facility and a command and control center.
The attacks came four days after US warplanes attacked an ammunition depot in eastern Syria and five US Army soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean on the same day.
Two weeks ago, two Iranian-controlled sites in similar locations were hit by US airstrikes in retaliation for a series of attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq.
On Saturday, Pentagon officials told that “several disposable drones” were fired in the morning against US and coalition troops stationed at the Rumalyn landing zone in northern Syria.
President Biden on Sunday ordered airstrikes against two facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he ordered today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Statement on Sunday’s attacks.
Local sources also said the attacks targeted a camp of pro-Iran militias in an area west of Albu Kamal in Deir al Zor province.
The other attack occurred near a bridge near the town of Mayadeen, close to the Iraqi border and a stronghold of pro-Iranian militias, the sources said.
The source of drone strikes against U.S. forces in Syria on Saturday was not immediately clear, but similar attacks last week were attributed to Iran-backed militants operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
For years, Iran has been supplying its Qasef-1 drones and other UAV munitions to its proxies in the region, including militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Gaza.
The Rumalyn landing zone was also targeted by a 107mm rocket attack on October 8, a day after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Sunday’s American attack is the third since October 26 as the United States seeks to quell a wave of drone and missile attacks against American troops in Syria and Iraq sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Two weeks earlier, the United States sent two F-16 fighter jets to attack an arms depot and munitions factory near Abu Kamal.
US soldiers from the 1st Armored Division are deployed in Syria in 2020. There are currently around 900 US soldiers stationed in Syria, most of them in the east
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (center) and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (right) are seen during a bilateral meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. Iranian-backed forces have gained a foothold in Syria while fighting for Assad during the country’s civil war
Both sites are operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said the attacks were not related to the war between Israel and Hamas, but analysts said they were intended to send a warning to Iran not to exploit regional unrest.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the United Nations on Thursday that the United States “will not be spared from this fire” if Israel’s offensive against Hamas does not end.
There were no reports of casualties in the 4:30 a.m. attack, and a U.S. official told Voice of America’s Jeff Seldin that the sites were chosen because no civilians were present.
It is the first time since March that the Biden administration has authorized strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq, following a series of strikes that began on October 17.
The attacks on several U.S.-controlled sites in the region resulted in minor injuries to 21 U.S. soldiers and the death of an American contractor, who died of a heart attack during an attack.
Iran and its supporters say the United States shares responsibility for Israel’s declared war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
U.S. and coalition troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria at least 40 times in recent weeks.
America strikes back: US warplanes carry out airstrikes against Iranian proxy forces in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US troops in the Middle East
At least 45 US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries or minor injuries.
President Joe Biden has warned Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, against attacking US forces in the region, saying there will be consequences.
“My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to act against these forces, we will respond,” Biden said.
The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, tasked with advising and assisting local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, which captured swathes of both countries in 2014 but was later defeated became.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attacks took place in the last few hours, adding that a U.S. review was underway to determine whether anyone was killed or injured in the attacks.
There are growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread to the Middle East and target US troops at isolated bases.
Benjamin Netanyahu says his Israeli forces will be able to quickly defeat Hamas terrorists operating from Gaza as he promises the release of more hostages.
The Israeli prime minister criticized US efforts to eliminate terrorist organizations Al-Qaeda and ISIS, claiming Israel would defeat Hamas more quickly.
This image from a video provided by the Ministry of Defense shows a Nov. 8, 2023 airstrike on a weapons depot in eastern Syria
He dodged CNN’s questions about whether he would take responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7 terrorist attacks. Many claim there was an intelligence failure on the part of the Israeli government.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has been going on for more than a month.
“I don’t think it will take as long as it took the United States and the international coalition to defeat ISIS or al-Qaeda.” It took many years. “I don’t think it will take many years,” Netanyahu told NBC News host Kristen Welker during a Sunday interview on Meet the Press.
He also claimed that there were negotiations to release more hostages from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Hamas is the de facto government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the IDF was working toward a quick defeat of Hamas terrorists, saying it would happen faster than the U.S. defeated al-Qaeda and ISIS
Meanwhile, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview on ABC this week that the US believes there should be “no reoccupation of Gaza” following Israel’s defeat of Hamas.
“No reduction of the territory of Gaza.” “No forcible expulsion of Palestinians,” he added.
Netanyahu told NBC that he had set “goals” for the path to defeating Hamas, but claimed he had no specific deadline in mind.
“We are moving as quickly as possible, but also as carefully as possible, because we want to keep the number of casualties among the civilian population and on our side as low as possible, while at the same time maximizing the number of casualties of the Hamas terrorists,” he added added.
In the same interview, the Israeli prime minister said that “there could be an agreement for the release of more hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip” – but he did not want to say too much publicly.
“The less I say about it, the better the chances are that it will happen,” Netanyahu said.
“Do you know where all the hostages are currently being held, Prime Minister?” Welker asked Netanyahu.
He replied, “We know a lot, but I won’t go beyond that.”
In a separate interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, he was asked whether he should take responsibility for the mistakes that led to the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu said there would be time for such “difficult” questions once the war was over.
“We will answer all these questions.” I think what we need to do now is to unite the country around one goal; to achieve victory,” he told CNN anchor Dana Bash.
“Let’s focus on winning – that’s my responsibility now.”
Netanyahu hinted on Sunday that a deal to release more hostages from the Hamas stronghold in the war-torn Gaza Strip might be on the table (pictured November 12).
Pressure on Netanyahu has increased because Israel failed to anticipate and prepare for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
On October 7, Hamas killed the largest number of Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust.
Around 1,400 Israelis were killed and 200 taken hostage in the attacks.
Sullivan says nine Americans are still missing after 32 were killed in the terrorist attacks.
The United States has sent warships and warplanes to the region, including two aircraft carriers, to deter Iran and Iranian-backed groups since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on October 7.
The number of troops stationed in the region is in the thousands.
Portal has reported that the US military is taking new measures to protect its forces in the Middle East amid an increase in attacks by suspected Iran-backed groups, leaving open the possibility of evacuating military families if necessary.
The measures include expanding U.S. military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and expanding intelligence gathering, including through drones and other surveillance operations, officials say.