Biden warns Iran after Tit-For-Tat airstrikes in Syria

Washington:

President Joe Biden warned Iran on Friday that the United States would “act forcefully” to protect Americans, after the US military carried out airstrikes against Iranian-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria.

Officials later said another US service member was injured in the latest tit-for-tat strike between Iran-backed forces and US personnel in Syria on Friday.

This is in addition to Thursday’s seven casualties, which Washington blamed on an Iranian-originated drone, and included one US contractor killed and five US soldiers and another contractor injured.

Suspected US rocket fire targeted new areas in eastern Syria on Friday, according to two local sources, without causing any casualties. Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement Friday that they had a “long arm” to respond to further US strikes on their positions.

The violence could further worsen already strained relations between Washington and Tehran, as attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers stall and Iranian drones are used by Russia against Ukraine.

Although US forces stationed in Syria have already been attacked with drones, fatalities are rare.

“Make no mistake: the United States is not seeking conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people,” Biden told reporters during a visit. in Canada.

When asked if there should be a higher cost to Iran, Biden replied, “We’re not going to stop.”

The Pentagon said US F-15 jets attacked two facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said US strikes killed eight pro-Iranian fighters. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the toll.

Iranian state broadcaster Press TV said no Iranians had been killed and quoted local sources as saying the target was not an Iranian-aligned military post, but a rural development center and a grain center near a military airport were hit.

DRONE ATTACK

The US strikes were a response to a drone attack earlier Thursday on a base near Hasakah in northeast Syria operated by a US-led coalition fighting remnants of Islamic State.

Three soldiers and a contractor had to be evacuated to Iraq, while two injured American soldiers were treated at the base. On Friday, the Pentagon said the injured were in stable condition.

Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared the base’s defensive system had failed.

The Pentagon said the US military had a full radar picture of the site, although an official told Reuters troops on the ground did not appear to have had enough time to react to the drone.

An American base in the Al-Omar oil field in Syria was attacked on Friday morning, according to the pro-Iranian Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen and a security source.

It is not uncommon for Iranian-backed groups to fire missiles at US bases in Syria after being hit by airstrikes.

US forces first deployed to Syria during the Obama administration’s campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. There are about 900 US troops in Syria, mostly in the east.

US troops have been attacked by Iran-backed groups about 78 times since the start of 2021, according to the US military.

While the Islamic State lost the areas of Syria and Iraq it ruled in 2014, sleeper cells continue to carry out lightning strikes in desolate areas where neither the US-led coalition nor the military Syrians do not exercise complete control.

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)