The Pentagon has announced that two U.S. F-15 fighter jets have conducted an airstrike on a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The Pentagon said on Wednesday night that the U.S. launched more airstrikes in eastern Syria that targeted a facility used by ‘Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups’.
‘This strike was conducted by two U.S. F-15s against a weapons storage facility’ Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement. He said the strike was ‘a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates’, referring to the Shia militias that operate in both countries.
The U.S. launched similar airstrikes on October 27th in an attempt to ‘deter’ further attacks on U.S. forces in the region. But the rocket and drone fire on U.S. bases has not stopped. At least 41 attacks have been reported since October 17th, injuring at least 45 U.S. troops.
An umbrella group of Shia militias that calls itself the Islamic Resistance of Iraq has taken credit for many of the attacks on U.S. bases. The militias receive support from Iran, but it’s unclear if Tehran is directing the attacks. The Pentagon previously acknowledged it had no evidence of direct Iranian involvement.
For their part, Iran has denied any role in the attacks on U.S. troops. Responding to U.S. allegations, Iran’s representative to the UN said Tuesday that Tehran ‘has never been involved in any actions or attacks directed at the United States military forces in Syria and Iraq’.
There are no reports of casualties yet in the U.S. strikes. If IRGC personnel were hit, it would risk a huge escalation with Iran.
Austin said the U.S. urges against escalation, but it’s unlikely the Shia militias will back down as the U.S. continues to support Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. ‘The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation. U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria’, Austin said.
Also on Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Syria, and ISIS attacks were reported in desert regions, killing 26 members of a pro-government militia and four Syrian soldiers”. -Dave DeCamp, Antiwar
The attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria are clearly a direct response to the United States support for Israel’s ongoing air and ground campaign against Gaza.
Moreover, unless and until the United States reevaluates that its stance on the Israeli offensive in Gaza may run the risk of fighting a full-scale ground war that could pose a threat to having U.S. military supremacy seriously tested, America will likely, once again, find itself trapped in the quagmire that is the Middle East.