US strikes pro-Iran groups in Syria: CENTCOM
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States military announced on Wednesday conducting airstrikes on a weapon storage facility belonging to Iran-backed groups in Syria, adding that the attack was in retaliation to a prior attack by the militia groups.
US forces “conducted a strike against an Iranian-aligned militia weapons storage facility in Syria,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“The strike is in response to an Iranian-aligned attack against U.S. forces in Syria yesterday,” it added.
CENTCOM said that the strikes targeted the Iran-backed groups’ weapon storage facilities “to degrade their ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces,” as part of the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) operations in the region.
No details were provided on the precise location of the strikes.
An assessment is underway, according to the statement, to determine details on the extent of damages, adding that they “currently do not assess there were any civilian casualties.”
The UK-based war monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported on Tuesday that Iran-backed militias fired two rockets at al-Shadadi military base, which houses US troops in Hasaka province.
US aerial defense systems intercepted the two rockets before they could hit their targets, according to SOHR.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS, which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared devoid of territorial control in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria have increased since the Palestinian Hamas group carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel in October 2023. The pro-Iran groups accuse the US of supporting Israel in the fight against Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement - another Iran-backed group.
US forces “conducted a strike against an Iranian-aligned militia weapons storage facility in Syria,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“The strike is in response to an Iranian-aligned attack against U.S. forces in Syria yesterday,” it added.
CENTCOM said that the strikes targeted the Iran-backed groups’ weapon storage facilities “to degrade their ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces,” as part of the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) operations in the region.
No details were provided on the precise location of the strikes.
An assessment is underway, according to the statement, to determine details on the extent of damages, adding that they “currently do not assess there were any civilian casualties.”
The UK-based war monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported on Tuesday that Iran-backed militias fired two rockets at al-Shadadi military base, which houses US troops in Hasaka province.
US aerial defense systems intercepted the two rockets before they could hit their targets, according to SOHR.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS, which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared devoid of territorial control in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria have increased since the Palestinian Hamas group carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel in October 2023. The pro-Iran groups accuse the US of supporting Israel in the fight against Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement - another Iran-backed group.