Middle East

U.S. conducts second round of airstrikes in Syria after attacks on U.S. forces reaches 41

Published

1 year ago

November 9, 2023

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.

Israel

President-Elect Trump to Hamas: ‘Release Hostages Now’ or there will be ‘Hell to Pay’

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2024

Sara Carter Staff

Following the release of a Hamas propaganda video with footage of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, 20, alive after over 420 days in captivity, as well as the IDF having confirmed the death of American-Israeli Captain Omer Neutra who was abducted during the October 7th attack, Trump is not mincing words.

United States President-elect Donald Trump declared Monday that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza are not freed before his inauguration on January 20. The message marked the first time since November’s election that the former chief executive commented on the situation facing captured Israeli citizens in the coastal enclave, reports Foreign Desk News.

Writing on his Truth Social account, the former president warned the captors, “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

During the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, the invaders kidnapped 251 individuals after killing almost 1,200 civilians and responding security forces.

Following negotiations and rescue operations led by the Israeli military over the past year, authorities in Jerusalem estimate about 60 of the 95 remaining abductees are still alive, adds FDN.