• Washington says it has no intention to engage in further hostilities
• Biden warns Tehran against attacks

WASHINGTON: Two US fighter jets have struck military infrastructure in eastern Syria, which were linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxies, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said the strikes were in response to recent attacks on US bases in “Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups.”

The US targets included a weapons cache and ammunition storage facility. The US defence chief said the US strikes were “separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.”

Iran did not immediately comment on the US action.

The strikes, carried out by a pair of F-16 US air force fighters, took place on Friday at around 04:30 local time (01:30 GMT) near Abu Kamal, a town on the border with Iraq.

So far, both sides have not reported any casualties from these strikes.

“These precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17,” Mr Austin said in a statement.

“The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop,” he added.

Mr Austin, however, claimed that Iran was trying to hide its involvement in attacks on US forces. “We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against our forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people,” he warned.

The US media reported that US and coalition troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria since Hamas raid on Israel.

The United States has stationed over troops across in the region to assist local partners on the ground against remnants of the militant Islamic State group. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Washington announced sending 900 additional troops to the Middle East.

Since October 7, the United States has sent two aircraft carriers to the region as well.

The Pentagon reported that so far 21 US military personnel have been injured in these attacks and one person died of a heart attack caused by the strikes.

‘Protect our people’

In March, the US carried out multiple air strikes in eastern Syria against Iran-linked groups after a drone attack killed a US contractor.

“These Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop,” Mr Austin said.

“If attacks by Iran’s proxies against US forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people.”

Washington fears that Iran’s involvement could escalate the Gaza crisis into a wider and even more serious unrest into region.

The White House said on Thursday that President Joe Biden had warned Iran against targeting US personnel in the Middle East via a rare message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

At a UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned that Washington would not be spared from the fire engulfing the region if the violence in Gaza continued.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2023