U.S. forces on Thursday launched a major counterstrike against Iran-backed militias in Syria, the latest blow in what’s become a rapidly escalating conflict between the two sides.
Just hours after militant groups fired rockets at two U.S. military installations in northeast Syria and wounded three American service members, U.S. Central Command said they targeted those groups with a coordinated counterattack. That attack included AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, AC-130 gunships, and M777 artillery, Pentagon officials said.
At least four militants were killed and seven rocket launchers destroyed, officials said.
“We will respond appropriately and proportionally to attacks on our servicemembers,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. “No group will strike at our troops with impunity. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people.”
Thursday’s U.S. strikes are the latest in a string of attacks and counterattacks by American forces and militias that the Pentagon says are directly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The State Department lists the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.
The escalating battle between the two sides comes as the Biden administration presses forward in its diplomatic dealings with Iran, hoping to revive an Obama-era agreement that limited Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
The continued violence and targeting of American service members will make such a deal more difficult, as critics say it’s outrageous for the administration to negotiate with a government intent on killing U.S. troops.
Thursday’s American counterstrikes came after Iran-backed militants fired rockets Wednesday night at Mission Support Site Conoco and Mission Support Site Green Village, two U.S. military installations in northeast Syria.
That militia rocket attack came just hours after U.S. airstrikes on Tuesday which targeted militant facilities in Deir ez-Zor, Syria.