The United States launched strikes in Syria at two locations linked to Iran in response to attacks on American personnel, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Washington on Sunday evening.
“The U.S. military today conducted precision strikes against facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-linked groups in response to continued attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.
“Attacks were carried out near the towns of Albu Kamal and Majadin on a training center and a protected residence,” he said.
It is the third time in less than three weeks that the US military has targeted sites in Syria it says are linked to Iran, which backs various armed groups Washington accuses of attacking its forces in the Middle East.
About 2,500 American soldiers are in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the fight against the terrorist group “Islamic State”.
On Wednesday, the United States targeted a weapons depot linked to Tehran in Syria, and on October 26, the US military attacked two facilities in Syria that it said were being used by Iran and terrorist organizations.
The United States said the attacks caused no casualties.
The attacks are being carried out by Washington in response to an increase in the number of attacks by pro-Iranian groups on its military in Syria and Iraq – there have been more than 45 since October 17, in connection with the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The US has given military support to Israel’s fight against Hamas.
The Palestinian territory of Gaza is under an Israeli blockade. The war between Israel and Hamas began after the Palestinian organization’s sudden attack on the south of Israel on October 7, where, according to the Israeli authorities, more than 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded with an air, sea and land attack on Gaza controlled by the Palestinian movement Hamas, killing more than 11,100 people, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
The United States has been quick to provide military support to Israel, but fears that the conflict will spread from Gaza to the region whose countries have condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, Beta reports.
