U.S. bombs Iran-backed militia in Syria at President Biden’s order
The U.S. fired missiles late Thursday at several facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia groups, Pentagon officials said, marking the Biden administration’s first military action.
The airstrikes, ordered by President Biden, “destroyed” the facilities at a border control point in the war-torn country that were used by militias like Kait’ib Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran and considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., said Pentagon press sectary John Kirby.
“These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel,” Kirby said.
Seventeen people were killed in the strike, Middle Eastern news reports said.
Iran-backed militias are believed responsible for a Feb. 15 rocket attack in Iraq that killed a U.S. military contractor and wounded a U.S. service member.
Kirby said Thursday’s retaliatory strike was “proportionate.”
“The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel,” Kirby said. “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.”
”I’m confident in the target that we went after. We know what we hit,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes” on Feb. 15, Austin said.
The Biden-ordered strike comes as his administration is seeking to restart diplomatic talks with Iran in hopes of resurrecting the nuclear deal abandoned by former President Donald Trump.
With News Wire Services
