US strikes more targets linked to Iran in eastern Syria

WASHINGTON — For the second time in four days, U.S. military forces carried out airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, officials said Sunday.

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In a statement, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that precision strikes were made on facilities that were used by Iran’s IRGC and other affiliated groups.

The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively, Austin said.

“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,” Austin said in a statement.

The attacks have been carried out in retaliation for rocket and drone attacks against United States forces in Iraq and Syria, according to The New York Times.

Air Force F-15E fighter jets struck several buildings in Abu Kamal used for training, logistics and storing munitions, according to the newspaper. The safe house in Mayadin was being used as a command headquarters, officials said.

The Pentagon said on Sunday that there had been at least 48 attacks against U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq since Oct. 17, the Times reported. At least 56 U.S. service members had been injured, officials said.

President Joe Biden warned Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month that if his country continued to “move against” American forces in the Middle East, “we will respond,” according to The Washington Post.

U.S. forces responded with airstrikes on Oct. 26, according to the newspaper. American planes hit sites that were storing weapons and ammunition in the eastern Syrian town of Bukamal, the Post reported.

The U.S. has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, according to the newspaper.