Monday, November 13, 2023

Pentagon chief says US hit Iran-linked sites in Syria after American troops attacked

WASHINGTON — The United States carried out strikes against two Iran-linked sites in Syria on Sunday in response to attacks on American forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

It is the third time in less than three weeks that the US military has targeted locations in Syria it said were tied to Iran, which supports various armed groups that Washington blames for a spike in attacks on its forces in the Middle East.

“US 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 US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.

“The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen, respectively,” he said.

The United States targeted a Tehran-linked weapons storage site in Syria on Wednesday, and also hit two facilities in the country on October 26 that it said were used by Iran and affiliated organizations. READ MORE