The U.S. military conducted airstrikes in Eastern Syria on Sunday, targeting facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran proxies.
The strikes, which targeted a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, according to a statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, are the latest development in an increasingly tense situation as Iranian-backed proxies continue to attack U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.
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“U.S. military forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.
Sunday’s response from U.S. forces marked the third time in recent weeks that they carried out strikes against facilities used by Iranian proxies. The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against a weapons storage facility and an ammunition storage area in Syria on Oct. 26 and conducted subsequent airstrikes against a weapons storage facility on Nov. 8.
These strikes occurred in response to ongoing attacks from Iranian proxies against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria via one-way attack drones and rockets.
U.S. and coalition forces have been attacked at least 46 times, 24 separate times in Iraq, and 22 separate times in Syria, by a mix of one way attack drones and rockets, deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday.
In total, 56 people have been injured in the attacks since mid-October, though all of them have returned to duty. A majority of those who were injured were harmed in strikes on Oct. 17-18. Twenty five U.S. troops have traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), while the rest have other injuries.
There are roughly 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq and about 900 in Syria with the mission of preventing an ISIS resurgence.
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The increased tension in the Middle East occurs as Israel is at war with Hamas, the terrorist organization and de facto government of Gaza, after it carried out the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history on Oct. 7. Israeli leaders have said they want to remove Hamas from power and rid them of their military capabilities, and though they have carried out their war primarily in the early stages via airstrike, ground troops have since entered Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israel’s response, which has prompted international backlash, particularly from other Middle Eastern countries.
