At least one US military service member in Syria suffered a minor injury and up to three suspected Iran-backed militants were killed on Wednesday, the US military said, in the second consecutive day of violence.
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The latest exchange of fire underscored soaring military tensions amid diplomatic efforts between Iran and the West to try to save the 2015 nuclear deal. It came a day after President Joe Biden authorized US air strikes in Syria on an ammunition depot and other facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The US military said the suspected Iran-backed militants launched two separate attacks starting at approximately 7:20 p.m. local time in Syria.
Several rockets landed inside the perimeter of Mission Support Site Conoco in northeast Syria and were quickly followed by rocket fire near Mission Support Site Green Village, it said in a statement. That triggered a US response from helicopters that, according to initial assessments, killed two or three militants conducting one of the attacks, it said.
Central Command said the wounded US service member had been at Mission Support Site Conoco and returned to duty after treatment. Two other service members were under evaluation for minor injuries, it said. Some injuries, including brain trauma, can manifest after an incident.
The latest attacks by the suspected Iran-backed groups could be retaliation for Biden's air strikes on Tuesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran denied having any link to sites targeted on Tuesday by the United States. The Biden-authorized air strikes involved eight US fighter jets – four F-16s and four F-15Es – and hit nine targets in Syria, the military said.
The White House said on Wednesday that its actions in Syria were independent on the ongoing efforts to renew the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA between Iran and the world powers over its atomic ambitions.
"We took this action because the president determined it was in our national security interests to do so. He will continue to closely monitor the situation with his national security team. So that is something that we're going to continue to do," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the daily press briefing. "The president has said that his pledge to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon has been his pledge from the beginning. A nuclear-armed Iran would serve as an even greater threat to US forces, friends, and allies in the region," she continued, adding, "the president will use whatever means are necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."
The Pentagon said Wednesday that the US military airstrikes in eastern Syria were a message to Iran and Tehran-backed militias that targeted American troops this month and several other times over the past year, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters that the U.S. airstrikes overnight on facilities used by militias backed by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard demonstrated that "the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs."
"We are closely monitoring the situation," General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, who leads Central Command, said in a statement.
US forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration's campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. There are about 900 US troops in Syria, most of them in the east.
Iran-backed militias established a foothold in Syria while fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's civil war.
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