A picture taken on April 2, 2018 shows a general view of a US military base in the al-Asaliyah village, between the Syrian city of Aleppo and the northern town of Manbij (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The US military said on Monday it had carried out strikes against nine targets associated with Iranian groups in Syria.
In a statement, the US military said the strikes were against two locations in Syria and a response to several attacks on US personnel in Syria in the past 24 hours.
The US has occasionally carried out strikes against targets linked to Iran in both Iraq and Syria.
In February, the US launched airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and militias it backs, in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops.
“These strikes will degrade the Iranian backed groups’ ability to plan and launch future attacks on US and Coalition forces,” the US military said after the most recent strikes.
The US has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but was later defeated.
The US. has sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on Oct. 7,to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups.
US forces have also helped shoot down projectiles that Iran launched toward Israel this year.
(Reuters)