Syrian Groups Retaliate Against US Strike

Iran-backed militia groups early Tuesday morning responded to the United States’ airstrike the previous night, firing rockets at American troops and at the al-Omar oil field in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zur, held by US-aligned forces. According to military spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto, the troops fired back at the launch sites in self-defense, and no injuries were sustained by US personnel. Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained that Monday’s air raid against militias in Iraq and Syria supported by Tehran was a “necessary, appropriate, deliberate action that is designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message.” The limited offensive targeted operational and storage facilities recently utilized for “attacks against US personnel in Iraq,” a Pentagon spokesperson said. Four members of the military factions were reportedly killed. It was just the second time the Biden administration approved such strikes in the region.