On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that the United States has conducted a second round of retaliatory airstrikes at facilities in Syria which are used by Iran’s elite military and Iran-backed militia groups.
The strikes “convey a clear message to Iran that we hold it accountable for attacks on U.S. forces and that we expect Iran to direct its proxies to stop,” said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a briefing Thursday afternoon.
Attacks by Iranian-backed militias on bases in Iraq and Syria that are hosts to U.S. troops reached 41 on Wednesday Fox News reported. “This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates,” Austin said in the statement.
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.” Facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias, the statement said. Two U.S. F-15 fighter jets conducted the airstrikes.
“The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation. U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria,” he added.
“We are minimizing what these groups are able to use. We believe and we feel that these are proportionate responses,” Singh added. The Pentagon saw several secondary explosions after the initial strikes on the weapons storage building “as we expected,” she added.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Monday characterized the operations as repeated “harassing attacks of drones and rockets.” At least 46 personnel sustained injuries including traumatic brain injuries and minor wounds from shrapnel, headaches, perforated ear drums and other conditions, he said.
