24 August 2022; MEMO: The US military announced that it had carried out a strike in Deir Ez-Zor in Syria, targeting military facilities and infrastructure used by groups linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as reported by Reuters.
The pro-Iranian groups are largely concentrated west of the Euphrates in the Deir Ez-Zor province, where they get supplies from Iraq through the Al-Bukamal border crossing,the news wire explained.
Communications Director of US Central Command, Colonel Joe Buccino, said: "At President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces conducted precision airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor Syria today. These precision strikes are intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups. The U.S. strikes targeted infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."
"The United States took proportionate, deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize the risk of casualties."
No details were given regarding casualties and fatalities or whether the strike was carried out by manned or unmanned aircraft.
"The United States does not seek conflict but will continue to take necessary measures to protect and defend our people," added the statement, noting that "U.S. forces remain in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS [Daesh]."
This is not the first time that US military planes have struck Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria. In June of last year, the US bombed operations command and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one in Iraq.
American forces were deployed for the first time in Syria during the campaign of former President Barack Obama's administration against Daesh, in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). About 900 US troops are deployed in Syria, most of them in the east.
