CENTCOM targets Iran-backed militias in Syria in response to attacks
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday that it targeted Iranian-backed sites in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel the previous evening.
On Tuesday night, strikes launched by the U.S.-led Global Coalition struck several posts of Iranian-backed militias scattered across the Deir ez-Zor countryside, west of the Euphrates River.
CENTCOM said that it had hit a weapons storage facility and a logistics headquarters used by an Iranian-backed militias, responding to a rocket attack on a Coalition base in Shaddadi in southern Hasakah.
CENTCOM’s statement emphasized that the attack on the base caused no casualties or damage to U.S. personnel or their partners.
These strikes were aimed at weakening the ability of Iranian-backed militias to plan and carry out further attacks against U.S. and coalition forces operating in the region to combat the Islamic State (ISIS).
Michael Kurilla, CENTCOM Commander said, “We have made it clear that attacks on U.S. personnel, partner forces, and facilities will not be tolerated and that we retain the right to defend ourselves.
He further stated, “U.S. Central Command, alongside our regional partners, will aggressively pursue any threat to US forces, allies, partners, and security in the region.”