bourbiza mohamed
The USA performed airstrikes in opposition to two amenities utilized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its proxies in japanese Syria late Sunday, Pentagon officers mentioned, within the newest retaliation for what has turn out to be a day by day barrage of rocket and drone assaults in opposition to American forces in Iraq and Syria.
Air Power F-15E fighter jets struck a number of buildings in Abu Kamal used for coaching and storing munitions, and a protected home in Mayadin used as a command headquarters.
The strikes got here simply 4 days after American warplanes hit a munitions warehouse in japanese Syria. Pentagon officers say the 2 newest units of strikes, in addition to one on Oct. 27, have been meant to discourage Iran and the militias it helps in Syria and Iraq, which the Biden administration has blamed for the assaults.
President Biden has rejected extra aggressive bombing choices proposed by the Pentagon out of worry of scary a wider battle with Iran. However the White Home’s responses to this point have been so slim that Republican critics in Congress and a few air energy advocates say they solely invite extra frequent and extra harmful assaults in opposition to U.S. troops within the area.
Pentagon and different Biden administration officers rejected that criticism on Sunday, saying that the American airstrikes have been in self-defense, and in proportion to the assaults by Iran-backed militias.
“The president has no greater precedence than the protection of U.S. personnel, and he directed right now’s motion to clarify that the USA will defend itself, its personnel and its pursuits,” Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III mentioned in an announcement whereas touring in Asia.
Not like the 2 earlier units of strikes, the Pentagon didn’t make senior officers accessible after Sunday’s navy response to debate particulars. Pentagon officers mentioned they have been nonetheless analyzing the strikes and didn’t know if anybody on the bottom was damage or killed.
The Pentagon mentioned on Saturday that there had been at the least 48 assaults in opposition to U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq since Oct. 17 and that at the least 56 U.S. service members had been injured. Roughly half of these suffered traumatic mind accidents, and two needed to be flown to Landstuhl navy hospital in Germany for therapy.
The USA has 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, largely to assist native forces struggle remnants of the Islamic State.
The USA has been shifting navy belongings to the Center East since Hamas’s shock assault in opposition to Israel on Oct. 7 to attempt to forestall a regional warfare that would drag American forces into battle with Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
It has deployed one plane provider to the japanese Mediterranean close to Israel, and one other not too long ago left the Crimson Sea and is crusing towards the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon has additionally despatched dozens of further warplanes to the Persian Gulf area, in addition to further Patriot antimissile batteries and different air defenses to a number of Gulf nations to guard U.S. troops and bases within the area.
These air defenses to this point have largely been profitable in pulling down incoming threats to American navy personnel, however U.S. navy officers say that troops have been fortunate that none have been killed because the assaults have elevated.
“It’s fairly clear that Iran and its proxy teams are escalating in opposition to U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and we now have a variety of choices at our disposal to defend ourselves,” Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s prime Center East coverage official, informed a Home committee final week.
