US fighter jets on Thursday night, October 26, struck two Iran-backed militia bases in Syria in revenge for a spate of drone and missile attacks on American troops.
The Pentagon revealed it has retaliated amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could spiral into an all-out war across the Middle East.
According to senior US military officials, the “precision” air strikes were carried out near Boukamal in eastern Syria by two F-16 fighter jets.
The jets struck weapons and ammunition depots that were connected to the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Crops and have been recently used to strike US bases.
The strikes were reportedly intended to show Iran-backed militant groups the US would retaliate as strongly as possible to deter future aggression.
On Thursday, a US bases at Kharab al-Jir in Syria was attacked for the second time in two days, while a base in western Iraq was also hit.
Since October 17, there have been at least 19 assaults on US bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria using drones and missiles, according to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon says 24 US soldiers have been injured and one personnel killed.
Tensions in the Middle East have soared since Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorists unleashed hell on southern Israel during their bloody October 7 attacks that left some 1,400 Israelis dead.
Earlier this week, US officials reportedly told Israel to hold off on a full-scale ground invasion into Gaza until the US can deliver 12 advanced air defence systems to the region to protect their troops believing their troops in the Middle East could be targeted by Hamas and other terror groups once Israel tanks and troops move across the border.
Speaking about the air strikes, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the “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.”
He said that President Biden directed the strikes “to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”
Iran is a key backer of Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.