The US military has launched airstrikes on targets in Syria targeting what the United States Central Command identified as “Iran-backed groups”۔ According to CENTCOM commander General Michael Erik Kurilla, this move is in response to recent assaults on American personnel stationed in Syria.
Kurilla emphasized that these strikes are an effort to send a strong message to groups in Syria being supported by Iran. The US strikes apparently targeted nine locations CENTCOM believes will upset the ability of those groups to continue organizing attacks on US interests in the region.
The US military maintains about 900 forces in Syria’s eastern regions, as well as up to 2,500 troops in Iraq, mainly involved in advising and helping local forces to combat ISIL. CENTCOM, however has not given out information regarding the groups that were involved in the newly reported skirmishes, nor did it confirm American casualties in the operations.
4 members killed in US military airstrikes in Syria
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that four members of Iranian-backed armed groups from Syria were killed, with 10 others wounded, in a strike on a base in Al Mayadeen, one of several districts in eastern Syria, amid heightened conflict in the region. International forces have been conducting strikes in areas associated with Iran-aligned factions.
Syrian state media reported Israeli air forces hit an aid convoy near the Lebanese border, keeping Syria’s main highway connecting Damascus with Aleppo closed. Israel regularly carries out strikes in Syria, mostly framing them as a pre-emptive attack on possible threats from Iranian-backed forces. Still, it rarely allows criticism of such actions to reach a wider audience.
The recent resurgence of strikes reflects intensifying tensions and instability in Syria. International powers continue to disagree on issues related to security there, yet the US and Israel remain focused on targeting groups they view as closely identified with Iranian interests.
Also, see: Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military bases, two soldiers killed