United States: The Pentagon has announced that the US carried out airstrikes on two facilities in Syria that were being used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed groups. This action followed a series of attacks against US forces in both Iraq and Syria.
These airstrikes occurred in response to the commitment of President Mr. Joe Biden’s administration to retaliate against attacks on US personnel that have been attributed to armed groups supported by Iran.
“The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop,” US Defense Secretary Mr. Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
“Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against US forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people,” the Defense Secretary remarked.
Mr. Austin stated that the precisely targeted strikes were taken in self-defense and were not linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The White House National Security Council spokesperson had previously cautioned that the United States would react to the attacks at a time and in a manner of their choosing.
According to US officials, a total of 21 American personnel have been injured in these attacks, with the majority of them experiencing traumatic brain injuries.
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