US airstrikes target 'Iranian-backed militia' sites in Syria, says Pentagon

Washington DC, February 17: President Joe Biden led the United States administration carried out airstrikes against facilities belonging to Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria. According to the US department press secretary, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups including Kait'ib Hezbollah and Kait'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

 

 

 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, "At President (Joe) Biden’s direction, US military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria."

"President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq."

Eastern Syria has been an area of intense military conflict between Iran-backed militia groups who are attempting to oust U.S. presence in northern Iraq

He said the strikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kata`ib Hezbollah and Kata`ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

The strikes appeared limited in scope, potentially lowering the risk of escalation. It was not immediately clear what damage was caused.

Syria has not yet immediately comment on the airstrike, however, the state-owned Ekhbariya TV said the strikes were conducted at dawn against several targets near the Syrian-Iraqi border.

An Iraqi militia official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one fighter had been killed and four others were wounded. A medical source at a hospital in the area and several local sources told Reuters 17 people had been killed. That toll could not be independently confirmed.

Since late 2019, the United States has carried out high-profile strikes against Kata`ib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria in response to sometimes deadly rocket attacks against US-led forces. In the Feb. 15 attack, rockets hit the US military base housed at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdish-run region, killing one non-American contractor and wounding a number of American contractors and a US service member.