WASHINGTON: U.S. air strikes this week against Iran-linked targets in Syria were carried out to protect and defend American personnel and disrupt a series of attacks against the United States and its partners, President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
In a letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden said he ordered the Tuesday strikes “consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests.”
Earlier, the US said it had conducted two rounds of air strikes in eastern Syria in one day against groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).
Early on Wednesday, jets bombed bunkers in Deir al-Zour province in retaliation for attacks on US troops last week.
In the evening, rockets were fired towards two US bases, injuring three service members, the US military said. Helicopters attacked vehicles used to launch some of the rockets, killing two or three suspected fighters, it added.
“The United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs,” Undersecretary of Defence Colin Kahl said.
About 900 US troops are operating out of bases in southern and eastern Syria, without the permission of the Syrian government, as part of the US-led global coalition against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
