US airstrikes have killed a complete of 19 militants in eastern Syria this week, Britain’s War Monitor said on Saturday, following an Iranian drone strike that left a US contractor dead and five US servicemen wounded.
Retaliatory strikes on Thursday against targets the Pentagon said were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps killed three Syrian soldiers, 11 pro-government militia members and five non-Syrian militants, by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Precision strikes” by US F-15 fighter jets prompted a tit-for-tat response from Iranian-backed militants on Friday, who fired 10 missiles that narrowly missed a US base in northeastern Syria – but hit a civilian houseinjuring two women and two children, in keeping with US Central Command.
The 2-day exchange was considered one of the deadliest in years between U.S. and Iranian-allied forces. Conducted by Iranian plenipotentiaries a minimum of 78 drone or rocket attacks against US troops within the Middle East since early 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.
“America doesn’t seek – I emphasize – doesn’t seek conflict with Iran,” Biden said Friday at a news conference in Ottawa while on an official visit to Canada. “But be prepared for us to act forcefully to guard our people.”
But Republicans found Biden’s response to Iranian-backed aggression weak.
“Administrator Biden’s continuation of the appeasement doctrine has cost American lives and encouraged our opponents,” Iowa Senator Joni Ernst argued in a tweet.