The Pentagon says Friday’s U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria likely killed Iranian proxy fighters, but the full consequences of the strikes continue to be evaluated.
At a news conference Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the U.S. conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, as well as airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Friday and Saturday. He gave reporters an overview of what happened. Yemen.
The airstrikes were carried out in response to attacks on U.S. forces, including the Jan. 28 attack in northeastern Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.
On Friday, the United States attacked seven facilities in Iraq and Syria, including more than 85 facilities used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its affiliated agencies to attack U.S. forces, Ryder said. targets were included.
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Ryder also said the facilities targeted on Friday included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, and rocket, missile and drone storage facilities.
“We think it is reasonable to conclude that there were likely casualties associated with these attacks,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in response to a question about the killing of Iranian proxies. “However, to ensure accurate information is provided, we need to allow time for Central Command to continue its assessment.”
Ryder was also asked if any Iranians were killed in the attack, to which he said initial indications were that there were no Iranians killed. He also said he would continue to assess the damage and provide updated information as it becomes available.
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The Pentagon’s message was that the United States did not want war and was in the Middle East to prevent the Israel-Gaza war from spreading into the region.
However, since entering the region, tensions have increased and several Iranian-backed rebel groups have carried out attacks on US forces.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are among the groups active against the United States, and in response the United States has carried out attacks against Iranian-backed proxies.
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Houthi fighters walk on British and American flags at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, February 4, 2024, and recent Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden attack. . The rally took place on Saturday as the US and UK attacked 36 Houthi targets in Yemen. It was the second day of major U.S. attacks, following last weekend’s attack on U.S. forces that killed three U.S. soldiers at a remote military post in Jordan across the border with Iraq. A militant with ties to Iran. (Mohamed Hammoud/Getty Images)
“These attacks are designed to further disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ ability to carry out attacks against U.S. and international vessels legally transiting the Red Sea,” Ryder said. “Coalition forces targeted 13 locations and attacked 36 targets linked to the Houthis.”
Ryder also said the U.S. took unilateral actions in self-defense to destroy missile launchers and unmanned surface vessels ready to deploy, adding, “This poses an imminent threat to naval vessels.”
“As Secretary Austin emphasized in his statement, this is the beginning of our response and additional actions will be taken to hold the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliated militias accountable for attacks on U.S. and coalition forces. “I guess so,” Ryder added.
He said he did not aim for an “all-out war” in Iraq and Syria, reminding reporters that he was there to carry out a mission to help defeat ISIS.
Still, he did not go into details about what future operations against the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliates would look like, other than to say that it would depend on the time and the U.S.’s choices.
