By Al-Fassel and AFP | 2023-11-14

The United States carried out strikes against two Iran-linked sites in Syria late Sunday (November 12) in response to attacks on US forces, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

It was the third time in less than three weeks that the US military has targeted locations in Syria linked to Iran, which supports various armed groups in the region that have been attacking US and international coalition forces.

"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 al-Mayadeen, respectively," he said.

US warplanes carried out a strike on an Iran-linked weapon storage facility in eastern Syria on November 8 in response to attacks against US personnel, Austin said.

The United States is striving to deter Iran and its proxies from turning the Hamas-Israeli fighting into a regional war.

"US military forces conducted a self-defense strike on a facility in eastern Syria used by Iran's IRGC and affiliated groups," Austin said in a statement.

"This strike was conducted by two US F-15s against a weapons storage facility," he said.

"This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC Quds Force affiliates," Austin said.

"We urge against any escalation," Austin said, according to the Washington Post.

US President Joe Biden has "no higher priority than the safety of US personnel," he added.

The United States "is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities," Austin said.

'Very clear messaging'

A senior US defense official said the strike was being combined "with very clear messaging through multiple channels."

"And the message is, to Iranian senior leaders, 'We want you to direct your proxies and militia groups to stop attacking us,'" he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the November 8 strike killed nine people affiliated with Iran-backed groups in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

A senior US military official said the site in Deir Ezzor province had been under surveillance so the United States could select a time to carry out the strike with "a minimal number of casualties."

The US military also hit two facilities in Syria on October 26 that it said were used by the IRGC and affiliated groups but assessed that those strikes did not cause casualties.

International coalition bases in Syria have come under four separate rocket and drone attacks since the US military carried out air strikes on Sunday, a US official told Al-Monitor on Monday.

US forces have come under attack at least 52 times in Iraq and Syria since October 17, it said.

Surge in attacks on US forces

The surge in attacks on US troops is linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, which began when the terrorist group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that killed more than 1,400, mostly civilians.

Hamas also took more than 200 hostages.

Israel's military responded with an air, land and naval assault on Gaza.

There are roughly 2,500 US troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).

ISIS once held significant territory in both countries but was pushed back by local ground forces supported by international coalition air strikes in a bloody multi-year conflict.

In another incident linked to the Hamas-Israeli war, US officials on Wednesday confirmed that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen had shot down a US drone.

The Houthis are opposed to government forces in Yemen and also are part of the so-called "axis of resistance" of groups arrayed against Israel.

They have claimed responsibility for multiple drone and missile attacks on Israel during its war with Hamas, and the US Navy intercepted missiles fired by the Yemen-based group last month.

Israel strikes Hizbullah sites

Separately, Israeli air strikes on November 8 hit sites belonging to Lebanese Hizbullah near Damascus, killing three pro-Iran fighters, the Observatory said.

Israel has struck Syria several times in the past month as regional tensions simmer over the Hamas-Israeli war.

"Three non-Syrian pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on farms and other sites belonging to Hizbullah near Akraba and Sayyida Zeinab," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Akraba houses a military airport, more than 10km from Damascus International Airport, the Observatory said.

Israel also struck Syrian air defense sites in the southern province of Sweida, it added.

Israeli air strikes had hit military sites in southern Syria, causing material damage, said Syrian state media.

Last month, Israeli strikes put Syria's two main airports in Damascus and Aleppo out of service several times in two weeks.