US strikes Iran-backed militias posts in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – US Central Command (USCENTOM) launched early on Monday airstrikes on sites linked to Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria, in response to attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on US bases in Syria and Iraq.
USCENTOM Commander, General Michael Erik Kurilla, said in a statement on X platform (previously Twitter), “in response to continued provocations by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their affiliated groups in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command (USCENTOM) conducted air strikes against facilities near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin.”
Additionally, US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said US forces carried out “precision strikes” on facilities used by the IRGC and Iranian-backed militias in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
He added, “The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house” near the towns of al-Mayadin and Abu Kamal.
On Nov. 8, the US conducted airstrikes on posts and weapon warehouses used by the IRGC and Iranian-backed militias in the city of Deir ez-Zor.
A source within the IRGC told North Press, US aircrafts launched two strikes on the biggest weapons warehouse of the IRGC on the outskirts of the town of Sayyal in eastern Deir ez-Zor. The strikes completely destroyed the warehouse as the explosions continued for several hours, according to the source.
The source added that the strikes also targeted a military equipment and logistics site of the Iranian-backed Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba militia in the countryside of Abu Kamal near the Syria-Iraqi border, in addition to an IRGC post near the Iranian military base of Imam Ali in al-Mayadin.
The strikes killed nine militants of the IRGC and affiliated Iranian-backed militias and led to the injury of others, according to the source.
Moreover, Austin added that US President Biden “has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”
US officials previously said these strikes serve the goal of deterring attacks on US forces in Syria and Iraq, which increased following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7.
About 56 US personnel sustained injuries, ranging from traumatic brain injury to minor wounds, during attacks carried out by Iranian-backed militias, according to the Pentagon.