DThe US military said it attacked two Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) facilities in eastern Syria on Thursday. “These targeted self-defense strikes are in response to a series of sustained and largely unsuccessful attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed militias that began on October 17,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement . The attacks were ordered by US President Joe Biden.
According to the US military, the facilities attacked were used by the IRGC and supported groups. “If Iranian proxies’ attacks against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary actions to protect our people,” the U.S. Secretary of Defense added.
Increased attacks on US soldiers
The US Department of Defense previously announced that positions of US forces and the international anti-IS coalition in Syria and Iraq were attacked at least 16 times in October. The Pentagon blamed “Iran-backed militia groups” for the attacks.
The most recent attack occurred in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. There were “no casualties” and “some minor damage to infrastructure,” said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. Since October 17, US and allied troops have been attacked at least twelve times in Iraq and four times in Syria.
The attacks were carried out with a “mixture of disposable attack drones and missiles,” Ryder said. “We know that these are Iranian-backed militias and of course we hold Iran responsible for these groups.”
U.S. forces in the Middle East are facing an increase in attacks related to the recent war between Israel and Hamas. The radical Palestinian organization Hamas launched a major attack on Israel on October 7th, in which, according to Israeli figures, around 1,400 people were killed. In response to the major attack, Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip and launched massive air strikes.
There are around 2,500 US troops stationed in Iraq and around 900 in Syria. They are part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the so-called Islamic State (IS), which once controlled significant areas in both countries but has been mired in a bloody local conflict lasting several years Ground troops were pushed back, supported by international air strikes.
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