“At the direction of President Biden, US military forces conducted precision airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor, Syria today. These precision strikes are intended to defend and protect US forces from attacks like those on August 15 against US personnel by Iran-backed groups,” he said, referring to last week’s attack on the Green Village base near the Iraqi border. This attack caused no damage or injuries. Biden, according to the statement, “gave the direction for these strikes pursuant to his Article II authority to protect and defend American personnel by hindering or preventing attacks by Iran-backed groups.” The base, which was attacked earlier this month, holds a “small number” of coalition forces, including members of the US military, an official said earlier. Several of the missiles failed to launch and were recovered by US-led coalition forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces. And earlier last week, several drones were repelled in an attack near the At-Tanf base in southern Syria. At the time of last week’s attacks, the coalition did not say who was responsible for any of the attacks. However, Iranian-backed militias in the region have frequently targeted US troops in Syria and Iraq. In January, the US military carried out raids in Syria after indirect fire posed what a US-led coalition official called an “imminent threat” to troops near Green Village. The US maintains about 900 troops in Syria, largely split between the At-Tanf base and the country’s eastern oil fields. CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.
