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28-10-2023
WASHINGTON/ DAMASCUS: The US carried out airstrikes targeting two facilities linked to Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria on Thursday, according to a statement from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, following a series of drone and rocket attacks against US forces in the region.
The statement said the facilities have been used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups.
The strikes, carried out by a pair of F-16 fighter jets using precision-guided munitions, targeted a weapons and ammunition storage facility in Abu Kamal near the border between Syria and Iraq.
Austin described the strikes, which were ordered by President Joe Biden, as “narrowly tailored in self-defense” and emphasized they are separate from the ongoing conflict in Gaza. He directly accused Iran of having a role in the attacks on US forces, saying in the statement, “Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them.” Austin also promised further strikes if the attacks by Iran’s proxies continue.
The two facilities targeted by US airstrikes in eastern Syria had been previously occupied by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated militia groups, a senior military official said, but it’s still unclear if the strikes resulted in any casualties.
“We know that there were people on the target at various points during the day,” said the official during a briefing 
with reporters following the attack. “Again, we know that they were not civilians,” the official added. “The people that occupy these locations are Iranian-aligned militia groups as well as IRGC personnel” but it would take more time to establish a more precise figure on how many were killed in the strike, if any, the official said.
A senior defense official called Iran “the center of gravity” for the attacks on US forces in the region, saying that “Iranian fingerprints are all over this.”
“Tehran and Iranian senior leaders are funding, arming, equipping, training and directing a whole plethora of militia groups across the region, and they have escalated attacks against US forces since October 17, which is why we took self-defense action tonight,” the official said.
The Biden administration has carried out strikes against militias before, but at a time of enormous tension, the US is looking to send a strong message to Iran and the militias not to escalate their attacks and spark a wider conflict in the Middle East. The region is on edge as the Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered by Hamas’ brutal terror attack on October 7, continues. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
