US Launches Strikes in Syria After Targeted Attacks Against American Troops

Earlier in the day, the Pentagon confirmed that 21 US personnel suffered minor injuries from 16 attacks that began on October 17. Most of those injuries, 19 of them, were classified as "traumatic brain injuries" and all have since returned to service. The US has placed blame for the attacks on "Iranian-backed militia groups."

The US Department of Defense revealed late Thursday that forces had fired strikes against two facilities in Syria following earlier attacks against American and allied troops in Iraq and Syria.

"Today, at President [Joe] Biden's direction, US military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups," the release said on Thursday.

"These precision self-defense 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."

The release underscored that the US strikes were not related to the Palestine-Israel conflict. The statement added that the US does not seek an escalation of the conflict in Palestine.

"These narrowly-tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict," the release said.

Information on the specific targets hit by US forces has not been provided. A US journalist reported that a pair of F-16 fighter jets were used in the attack. The reporter claims, citing US officials, that the attacks hit ammunition depots near Abu Kamal on the eastern Syria border with Iraq.

There have been no reports of fatalities or injuries, and it is unknown if anyone was inside the facilities when the strikes were launched.

Earlier Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said the US has, or was in the process of, deploying around 900 troops to the Middle East to bolster security in the area. He did not provide details on where the troops were going specifically, only confirming they would not be deployed to Israel. Ryder further stated that a US response to the attacks would come "at the time and place of our choosing."

Also Thursday, Biden reiterated that he sent a message to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning against strikes on US troops. The remark came after the US president earlier noted he had filed to the Ayatollah that retaliation might be forthcoming.

"My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel," Biden said at a conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday.

This attack is not the first US attack on Syria this year. In March, the US responded to a drone attack in Syria that killed a US contractor and wounded five service members; however, the Thursday strike is the first attack since the start of the escalated Palestine-Israel conflict on October 7.

That conflict has raised tension in the region, particularly after an explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital, leading to protests around the Muslim world. Both sides of the conflict have blamed the other for the explosion that killed hundreds of civilians.

Iran has likewise warned the US against further escalation in the Middle East.

"I say frankly to the American statesmen and military forces who are now managing the genocide in Palestine," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated at the UN General Assembly, "that we do not welcome the expansion and scope of the war in the region."

In addition to the 900 recently-deployed troops, there are roughly 35,000 US troops deployed in the Middle East, according to Responsible Statecraft. Most of those forces are in Gulf bases, far from any fighting; however, roughly 3,400 remain stationed in Syria and Iraq.

Last year, the Ministry of Oil in Syria accused the US and its "mercenaries" of stealing Syrian oil. The Syrian government has repeatedly called out the illegal American presence in the country as a violation to its sovereignty.

The United States also recently deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region, along with several Patriot missile systems and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.