US strikes Iran-linked facilities in Syria after attacks on US troops
- Two targets in eastern Syria were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pentagon says
- Strikes in Syria follow a direct warning from US President Joe Biden to Iran’s supreme leader
Two US fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria on Friday in retaliation for attacks on US forces by Iranian-backed militia as concerns grew that the Israel-Gaza conflict may spread in the Middle East.
US President Joe Biden ordered strikes on the two facilities used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and militia it backs, the Pentagon said, warning the US will take additional measures if attacks by Iran’s proxies continue.
US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 19 times in Iraq and in Syria by Iran-backed forces in the past week. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are all backed by Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations on Thursday that if Israel’s offensive against Hamas did not stop, the United States will “not be spared from this fire”.
The US air strikes took place at roughly 4.30am on Friday in Syria near Abu Kamal, a Syrian town on the border with Iraq, and were carried out by two F-16 fighter jets using precision munitions, a US defence official said.