Several United States soldiers were lightly wounded and at least two fighters described by US Central Command as “suspected Iran-backed militants” were killed in Syria, a day after the US said it had carried out raids on “Iran-linked” targets in the country.
The US military said attacks were launched on two facilities on Wednesday evening, with several rockets landing inside the perimeter of Mission Support Site Conoco in northeast Syria, quickly followed by another near Mission Support Site Green Village, both run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed Kurdish-led group.
In response, raids by a US helicopter killed “two to three … suspected Iran-backed militants”. The statement said two US military personnel were treated following the attacks, and two others were under evaluation.
The attacks come a day after the US military said it had carried out raids in Deir Az Zor, a strategic oil-rich province that borders Iraq, on groups linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
US Central Command said the raids were ordered by President Joe Biden and were a direct response to an August 15 attack on the al-Tanf Garrison, where US troops are based.