“The president (Joe Biden) has made it very clear that he will act to protect our staff on the ground. We continue to reserve the right to respond to any attack at a time and place of our choosing. We will not hesitate to take new measures in our own defense,” White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference.
The attacks occur after he Pentagon has confirmed that at least 21 US soldiers have suffered minor injuries in 20 drone attacks by pro-Iran militias in Iraq and Syria since October 17.
Additionally, a civilian contractor employed by the US died of a heart attack while sheltering from the attacks of the pro-Iranians.
US and coalition forces They have been attacked 14 different times in Iraq and six in Syria since last October 17.
“Most of these attacks “They were stopped by defensive systems and did not reach their objectives.”Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a written statement.
The two bombings launched Thursday in retaliation by US forces in the vicinity of Abu Kamal, according to Kirby, sought to “have a significant impact on future IRGC operations and Iranian-backed militia groups.
It was therefore aimed against “ammunition depots and storage facilities” that Washington said it knows those groups will use.
“The main objective was to alter their capacity. Also deter and prevent future attacks. We are not interested in an escalation. “No one is looking for a conflict with Iran,” the US spokesman said.
Ryder pointed out that both facilities were destroyed and no casualties were recorded.
That attack, he stressed, has nothing to do with the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas “and does not constitute a shift in the American approach” to it.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin already made it clear this Thursday that the “Iran-backed” attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop.”and advanced that if these attacks continue, the United States will not hesitate to take “more necessary measures” to protect its own.