US launches new airstrikes on Syria facility linked to Iran

The U.S. carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said.

In Wednesday’s strike, two U.S. F-15 fighter jets dropped multiple bombs on a weapons storage facility near Maysulun in Deir el-Zour that was known to be used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said.

“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,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Iraqi local media have reported that successive explosions were heard in the north of Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

This is despite the fact that the United States military claimed about two weeks ago that it had carried out attacks against two facilities in eastern Syria that belong to Iran-backed groups.