WASHINGTON – U.S. airstrikes targeted bases in Syria used by Iranian militant groups suspected of attacking U.S. and allied forces in northern Iraq last week, the Pentagon announced late Thursday.
The strikes, first approved by President Joe Biden, hit several targets used by militias as the Pentagon blames rocket attacks on a base in northern Iraq that killed an entrepreneur and wounded U.S. and allied troops.
“The operation sends an unequivocal message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “At the same time, we have acted deliberately aimed at decaling the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.”
Biden’s decision to attack Syria was not a signal to signal an intention to expand US military involvement in the region, but rather to demonstrate a willingness to defend US troops in Iraq.
“I’m sure the goal we went for, we know what we achieved,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington, according to
