WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — U.S. forces conducted precision strikes Thursday against two facilities used by Iran in eastern Syria, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
Austin said the strikes targeted two facilities used by Iran\’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups and were carried out at President Joe Biden\’s direction.
The strikes were \”self-defense\” in nature, Austin said, and were meant to retaliate \”a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.\”
Due to attacks against U.S. forces, \”one U.S. citizen contractor died from a cardiac incident while sheltering in place; 21 U.S. personnel suffered from minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty,\” he said.