U.S. military forces conducted “precision” airstrikes on facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian-affiliated groups on Sunday, the Pentagon said.
It’s the third time since Oct. 26 that American forces have conducted such strikes in what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says is “in response to continued attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.”
The actions of Iran and the militant groups it backs are forcing Israel and the U.S. to contend with the possibility that the Israel-Hamas war could explode into a wider regional conflagration, per Axios’ Dave Lawler.
Iranian-backed militias have attacked U.S. bases and facilities in Iraq and Syria 41 times since the Israel-Hamas war began last month, per Pentagon officials.
Attacks in Iraq and Syria have since Oct. 17 left at least 56 U.S. personnel with a “combination of traumatic brain injury and minor injuries,” though officials say all have returned to work.
Biden took the rare step late last month of sending a message directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning him not to target U.S. troops in the Middle East, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Barak Ravid note.
The latest U.S. airstrikes were conducted in eastern Syria “against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively,” according to Austin’s statement Sunday.
