US military strikes ‘Iranian-backed’ fighters in Syria for a second day

The US military said it carried out strikes against an Iranian-backed armed group in Syria, its second such operation in two days.

The United States military has again carried out air strikes in Syria targeting “Iranian-aligned targets” following a recent rocket attack against US forces at a base in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US forces deployed in the Middle East, did not specify on Wednesday how many air strikes were conducted – or who the targets were – stating only that the Iranian-aligned “group’s weapons storage and logistics headquarters” were hit.

The unnamed fighters had fired rockets at the US Patrol Base Shaddadi, in northeast Syria, but inflicted no damage to the facility or injuries to US or “partner forces”, CENTCOM said.

On Tuesday, CENTCOM also said it had carried out attacks against “Iranian backed groups” in Syria, hitting nine targets at two separate locations in the country over the previous 24-hour period.

“US Central Command, alongside our regional partners, will aggressively pursue any threat to US forces, allies, partners, and security in the region,” CENTCOM’s commander Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement following the latest strikes.