U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Pentagon said, in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.
The US strikes reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The US wants to hit Iran-backed groups suspected of targeting the US as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, possibly fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas, while also trying to prevent the region from falling into flames and is set ablaze and a wider conflict is provoked.
According to a senior US military official, the precision strikes near Boukamal were carried out by two F-16 fighter jets and hit weapons and ammunition warehouses linked to the IRGC. The official said there had been Iranian militias and IRGC personnel at the base, not civilians, but the US does not yet have information on casualties or a damage assessment. The official would not say how much munitions were launched by the F-16s.
A senior defense official said the locations were chosen because that is where the IRGC stores the types of munitions used in the attacks on US bases and troops. The two officials briefed reporters after the strikes on condition of anonymity to provide details about the mission that had not yet been made public.
There have been at least 19 attacks on US bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria since October 17, including three more on Thursday, according to the Pentagon. Air Force Brigade. Gen. Pat Ryder said 21 U.S. personnel were injured in two of those strikes, which used drones to attack al-Asad air base in Iraq and al-Tanf garrison in Syria.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the precision self-defense strikes are in response to a series of sustained and largely unsuccessful attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias that began on October 17.
He said President Joe Biden led the narrowly tailored attacks to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel and its interests. And he added that the operation was separate from Israel’s war against Hamas.
The senior defense official told reporters that the F-16 airstrikes will have a significant impact on the ability of Iranian proxy groups to continue attacking US forces. When asked which groups were targeted, the official said there are several that may go by different names, but the US holds Tehran responsible for financing, arming, equipping and directing the proxies. The official said the airstrikes were not intended to widen the conflict in the region but to force Iran to order the militia groups to stop attacks on US bases and personnel.
The Biden administration has not accused Iran of playing a direct role in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and has said that so far it appears Tehran was not aware of it beforehand. But the US has noted that Iran has long supported Hamas and has expressed concern that Iran and its allies could turn the conflict into a broader war.
Austin said the U.S. is not seeking a broader conflict, but if Iranian proxy groups continue, the U.S. will not hesitate to take additional action to protect its forces.
According to the Pentagon, all U.S. personnel injured in the militant attacks suffered minor injuries and all returned to duty. In addition, a contractor suffered cardiac arrest and died while seeking shelter from a possible drone attack.
The retaliation came as no surprise. Pentagon and White House officials have made clear over the past week that the US would respond, with Ryder again saying on Thursday that it would be at a time and place of our choosing.
I think we have been crystal clear that we retain the inherent right to defend our troops and that we will take all necessary measures to protect our armed forces and our interests abroad, he told reporters earlier in the day during a briefing from the Pentagon.
Biden said on Wednesday that he had warned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, that if Tehran continues to move against US forces in the Middle East, we will respond.
The latest wave of strikes by the Iran-linked groups came in the wake of a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza, sparking protests in a number of Muslim countries. The Israeli army has ruthlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Hamas disaster in southern Israel almost three weeks ago, but Israel has denied responsibility for the al-Ahli hospital blast and the US has said its intelligence assessment has revealed that Tel Aviv was not to blame. .
The US, including the Pentagon, has repeatedly said that any American offensive response would be directly related to the attacks on the troops, and not to the war between Israel and Hamas. Such retaliation and attacks on Iranian targets in Syria following similar attacks on US bases are routine.
For example, in March the US struck sites in Syria used by groups linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, after an Iran-linked attack killed a US contractor and injured seven other Americans in northeastern Syria. US F-15 fighter jets flying from al-Udeid air base in Qatar struck several locations around Deir el-Zour.
U.S. officials have routinely emphasized that the U.S. response is proportionate and aimed at deterring attacks on U.S. personnel focused on the fight against Islamic State.
U.S. officials have not publicly linked the recent series of attacks in Syria and Iraq to the violence in Gaza, but Iranian officials have openly criticized the U.S. for supplying Israel with weapons that have been used to attack Gaza, resulting in civilian deaths .
The Pentagon has meanwhile strengthened air defenses in the region to protect US troops. The US has said it will send several batteries of Patriot missile systems, a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional fighter jets.
The THAAD is dispatched from Fort Bliss, Texas, and the Patriot batteries are from Fort Liberty in North Carolina and Fort Sill in Oklahoma. An Avenger air defense system is also being dispatched from Fort Liberty.
Officials have said as many as two battalions of Patriots are being deployed. A battalion can contain a minimum of three Patriot batteries, each with six to eight launchers.
Ryder said Thursday that about 900 troops have been deployed or are en route to the Middle East region, including those associated with the air defense systems.