U.S. military forces have conducted a self-defense strike on Syria, Pentagon officials announced this week. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said Thursday that the strike was not related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, attacked Israel in early October, killing an estimated 1,400 people, prompting Israel to declare war. Since then, fighting has continued.
“We are responding to a number of attacks against our forces, and these are defensive strikes,” Austin said of the U.S. actions in Syria this week. “They are not connected to what Israel is doing in its efforts against Hamas.”
In a Wednesday statement, Austin said that there had been a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups. In response, U.S. military forces conducted a strike against a weapons storage facility with F-15s.
Austin said the strike was called by U.S. President Joe Biden.
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” he said. “The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation. U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was created after the 1979 revolution that lead to the creation of an Islamic Republic. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the group has control over large sectors of the Iranian economy and has aided militant groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Yemen.
In October, the U.S. State Department said in a press release that the U.S. would be imposing sanctions on individuals, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials involved in financing and training Hamas.
Austin said Thursday that the U.S. is aiming to make sure the Israel-Hamas War, and ongoing conflict in Gaza, does not expand to become a region-wide conflict in the Middle East. So far, military officials do not believe the conflict has expanded.
“If the strike – if the attacks against our forces don’t decrease or stop, we will take additional measures,” he added in response to questions about the strike in Syria. “And you know, as I said early on here... I think we’re going to do everything we can to protect our troops, and we are absolutely serious about that.”
He also addressed reports that an unmanned U.S. military drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces. Audacy recently reported that the U.S. is using drones in Gaza to search for hostages held by Hamas.
“In terms of the Yemen event, we’re still looking into that, assessing that to see what happened, and so I don't have anything further to offer you at this point in time,” said Austin.