The US military has conducted strikes on Syrian locations, targeting groups it identified as aligned with Iran, according to a statement from the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). This response follows recent attacks on US forces stationed in the region. CENTCOM confirmed that nine targets were struck at two sites, aiming to weaken the capability of Iranian-backed groups to carry out future assaults.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, stated early Tuesday that the action was a “clear” warning to these armed groups that attacks on US and coalition forces would not be tolerated. He characterized the previous day’s assault on US military personnel as “reckless.” The strikes, CENTCOM added, intend to “degrade” these groups’ ability to plan and initiate further attacks. While the US military did not disclose the specific groups targeted or whether casualties resulted, no US personnel were reported injured in the attacks.
The United States maintains approximately 900 troops in eastern Syria and an additional 2,500 in neighboring Iraq. Their primary mission is to advise and assist local forces in preventing a resurgence of ISIL (ISIS), the militant organization that took control of large areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014 before being largely defeated.
In the aftermath of the US strikes, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that four Syrian members of Iranian-backed groups were killed and 10 severely injured after “international coalition” fighter jets attacked a headquarters in the Al Mayadeen area in Deir Az Zor, eastern Syria. In related events, Syria’s state media reported that Israel had conducted airstrikes on an aid convoy in the Shamsin area near the Lebanon border, closing Syria’s main north-south highway linking Damascus and Aleppo. Syrian state television offered no casualty reports, and the convoy’s purpose remains unconfirmed, though the area reportedly serves as a refuge for those fleeing Israeli actions in Lebanon.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab killed seven civilians, including women and children, with 20 others wounded, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Israel has launched hundreds of attacks in Syria over recent years, aiming at Iranian-aligned groups which it perceives as threats to its national security. However, Israel rarely publicly acknowledges its operations in Syria.
