US launches airstrike in Syria in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias

A White Helmet rescue worker walks past a house that was destroyed during an airstrike in the western countryside of Aleppo on February 12, 2020 [AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images]

The US carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing US troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said, AP reports.

According to the report, in Wednesday’s strike, two US F-15 fighter jets dropped multiple bombs on a weapons storage facility near Maysulun in Deir El-Zour that was known to be used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, US officials said.

“The President has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.

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