DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus US fighter jets strike Iran-linked sites in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US troops

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said, in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.

The strikes reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. The U.S. wants to hit Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the U.S. as strongly as possible to deter future aggression, possibly fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas, while also working to avoid inflaming the region and provoking a wider conflict.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that the strikes near Boukamal by F-16 and F-15 fighter aircraft targeted a weapons storage facility and ammunition storage facility used by the IRGC and affiliated groups. “Both facilities were destroyed,” he said. “We currently assess there were no casualties in the strikes.”

A senior U.S. military official said there had been Iranian-aligned militia and IRGC personnel on the base and no civilians. The official would not say how many munitions were launched by the jets.

A senior defense official said the sites were chosen because the IRGC stores the types of munitions there that were used in the strikes against U.S. bases and troops. The two officials briefed reporters after the strikes on condition of anonymity to provide details on the mission that had not yet been made public.

Syrian opposition activists confirmed the U.S. strikes in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour. Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, said the main target was an area known as “the farms” outside the town of Mayadeen. He said it is an important transit site where weapons from Iran are stored before being shipped to Lebanon.

He said the second strike hit an area known as the “green belt” in the Boukamal area that borders Iraq. According to Abu Layla, some people were evacuated before the strikes because the retaliation was expected. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said ambulances were seen rushing to the area but it wasn’t clear if there were casualties.

Meanwhile Friday, an Iranian semiofficial news agency, Tasnim, said gunmen in east Syria fired 10 rockets on a base housing American troops in retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes. A U.S. official confirmed the rocket attack and said there were no reported casualties.

And the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group for several Iran-backed groups, said fighters attacked al-Assad airbase in western Iraq with a suicide drone. U.S. officials said it was shot down a few kilometers away and did not hit the base.

According to the Pentagon, as of Friday there had been at least 20 attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. Ryder said 21 U.S. personnel were injured in two of those assaults when drones targeted al-Assad airbase in Iraq and al-Tanf garrison in Syria.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the “precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.”

In a letter sent Friday to congressional leaders, President Joe Biden wrote: “The strikes were intended to establish deterrence and were conducted in a manner to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties. I directed the strikes in order to protect and defend our personnel, to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities.”

The senior defense official told reporters that the airstrikes will have a significant impact on the ability of Iranian proxy groups to continue to attack U.S. forces. Asked what groups were targeted, the official said there are several that can have different names, but the U.S. holds Tehran responsible for funding, arming, equipping and directing the proxies. The official said the airstrikes were not designed to expand the conflict in the region, but to compel Iran to direct the militia groups to cease the attacks on American bases and personnel.

The Biden administration has not accused Iran of having a direct role in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and has said it appears so far that Tehran was not aware of it beforehand. But the U.S. has noted that Iran has long supported Hamas and has raised concerns that Iran and its proxies could turn the conflict into a wider war.

Austin said the U.S. does not seek a broader conflict, but if Iranian proxy groups continue, the U.S. won’t hesitate to take additional action to protect its forces.

According to the Pentagon, all the U.S. personnel hurt in the militant attacks received minor injuries and all returned to duty. In addition, a contractor suffered a cardiac arrest and died while seeking shelter from a possible drone attack.

The retaliatory strikes came as no surprise. Officials at the Pentagon and the White House have made it clear for the past week that the U.S. would respond, with Ryder saying again Thursday that it would be “at the time and place of our choosing.”

The latest spate of strikes by the Iranian-linked groups came in the wake of a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital, triggering protests in a number of Muslim nations. The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Hamas rampage in southern Israel nearly three weeks ago, but Israel has denied responsibility for the al-Ahli hospital blast and the U.S. has said its intelligence assessment found that Tel Aviv was not to blame.

The U.S., including the Pentagon, has repeatedly said any strike response by America would be directly tied to the attacks on the troops, who are focused on the fight against Islamic State militants in the region. They said the strikes are not connected to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Such retaliation and strikes against Iranian targets in Syria after similar attacks on U.S. bases are routine.

In March, for example, the U.S. struck sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after an Iranian-linked attack killed a U.S. contractor and wounded seven other Americans in northeast Syria. American F-15 fighter jets flying out of al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar struck several locations around Deir el-Zour.

U.S. officials have not publicly tied the recent string of attacks in Syria and Iraq to the violence in Gaza, but Iranian officials have openly criticized the U.S. for providing weapons to Israel that have been used to strike Gaza, resulting in civilian death.

https://apnews.com/article/syria-ai...y-guard-af3c7a0f069b8c8b08f6feaa0e165d6a

US hints at more strikes unless Iran-linked groups halt attacks

SEOUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday left open the possibility of more strikes against Iran-linked groups if attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria don't stop, hours after overnight U.S. air strikes in Syria.

The U.S. military carried out its third air strike in as many weeks in Syria late on Sunday, targeting a training facility near the city of Albu Kamal and a safe house near the city of Mayadeen.

The strikes came after at least 40 attacks against U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces in recent weeks, as regional tensions mount over the Israel-Hamas war. At least 45 U.S. troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries or minor wounds.

"These attacks must stop, and if they don't stop, then we won't hesitate to do what's necessary, again, to protect the troops," Austin told reporters at a news conference in Seoul.

Austin said the latest air strikes in eastern Syria targeted facilities used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and related groups.

"These strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the freedom of action of these groups, which are directly responsible for attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria," Austin said.

The United States has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, 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.

There is growing concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread through the Middle East and turn U.S. troops at isolated bases into targets of heavier weaponry than the smaller rockets and one-way drones seen so far.

The United States has deployed additional air defenses and sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on Oct. 7, including two aircraft carriers, to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups.

The number of troops added to the region is in the thousands.

Reuters has reported that the U.S. military was taking new measures to protect its Middle East forces during the ramp-up in attacks by suspected Iran-backed groups, and was leaving open the possibility of evacuating military families if needed.

The measures include increasing U.S. military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and boosting intelligence collection, including through drone and other surveillance operations, officials say.

It was still unclear whether anyone was killed in the latest U.S. strikes in Syria. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a U.S. review was under way.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-hi...n-linked-groups-halt-attacks-2023-11-13/

More aggression on U.S. forces......

Missiles fired from Yemen toward US warship that responded to attack on commercial tanker



Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen toward a US warship in the Gulf of Aden, after the US Navy responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker that had been seized by armed individuals, the US military said Sunday.

The tanker, identified as the Central Park, had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid when its crew called for help that “they were under attack from an unknown entity,” the US Central Command said in a statement.

The incident comes after Iran-backed Houthi forces launched numerous attacks against US interests in the region, and Israel, since the October 7 Hamas attacks, as fears continue to ripple across the region that the Israel-Hamas war could widen.

The Houthis are a Shia political and military organization in Yemen that have been fighting a civil war in the country against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia. They have voiced support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

The USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, and allied ships from a counter-piracy task force that operates in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia responded to the call for help and “demanded release of the vessel” upon arrival, Central Command said.

“Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat,” said the statement posted on social media platform X.

“The Mason pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender,” the statement added, without identifying the attackers.

Hours later, at 1:41 a.m. local time on Monday morning, two ballistic missiles were fired from areas controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen “toward the general location” of the USS Mason and Central Park, the statement said.

“The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships,” the statement said.

The Mason was finishing its response to the Central Park’s distress call at the time of the missile launches. There was no damage or reported injuries from the Central Park or the Mason as a result, it added.

A statement from Zodiac Maritime, which manages the Central Park, said Sunday the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker was safe “and all of the crew, the vessel, and cargo are unharmed.”

The tanker appears to have links to an Israeli-owned company; Zodiac Maritime is listed as a business belonging to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Ofer Global, though a spokesperson speaking on behalf of Zodiac Maritime, Janni Jarvinen, said Sunday that Zodiac “is not owned by Ofer Global.”

Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement on Sunday that maritime domain security ‘is essential to regional stability.”

“We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes,” Kurilla said.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel, the US has emphasized the priority of avoiding the conflict from spilling over into a broader conflict in the region, as US forces in Iraq and Syria have also been under regular attack by Iranian-backed groups. Among the groups Tehran supports, the Houthis are of particular concern as they are more independent of Iran than some others.

Despite the escalation of attacks in the region, however, CNN reported previously that intelligence showed Iran and its proxies have been thus far calibrating their responses to avoid direct conflict with US or Israel.

But, over the last several weeks, the US has intercepted a number of cruise missiles and attack drones fired by the Houthis toward Israel or US assets. Last week, the USS Thomas Hudner shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Yemen while it was patrolling in the Red Sea. On November 15, the Hudner also shot down a drone believed to have been heading toward the ship. Earlier this month, the Israeli military said it thwarted an aerial attack of ballistic missiles and drones launched against targets in Israel.

Houthi naval forces renewed a warning in a statement last week to ships in the Red Sea flying the Israeli flag, managed by Israeli companies or owned by Israelis.

The group declared its intent to persist in military operations against Israeli ships and interests until Israel’s “aggression against Gaza stops.”

The statement warned any military units providing protection to Israeli ships, stating that they would be considered legitimate targets for Houthi operations.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/27/poli...Oe-7jbldL1htpiIPjJYdhI9i0cOoGM0sHzR_6FKI

All good with retaliatory strikes. Israel should note how we respond by not killing everyone in sight.

When 3000 Americans died we killed 100s of thousands for twenty years…. They already took notes.