The US launched the latest strikes overnight in response to a rocket attack on two coalition bases housing US troops in Syria, in which three US service members were lightly wounded. In the initial response to the missile attack on Wednesday, US attack helicopters destroyed three vehicles and the missile launchers used to carry out the attack, the US Central Command said in a statement. Two or three Iranian-backed fighters were also killed in the helicopter strike, according to an initial estimate. The military carried out the strikes with AC-140 gunships, Apache attack helicopters and M777 howitzers, US Central Command said in a statement. The Pentagon said a total of four Iranian-backed fighters were killed in the series of US raids. “We will continue to assess the situation,” Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news conference Thursday. “We will respond appropriately and proportionately to attacks against our military,” Michael “Eric” Kurila, commander of US Central Command, said in the statement. “No group will strike our troops with impunity. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people.” A US official said the military believed it had once again re-established deterrence with the latest strikes and that the rapid escalation had peaked. The military exchanges come at a critical time for US-Iranian relations as some progress has been made in reviving the Iran nuclear deal, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. On Wednesday, a senior administration official told CNN there was no connection between the strikes that began on Tuesday and efforts to revive the deal, saying the strikes were simply a response to recent Iranian attacks on US forces. However, the airstrikes appeared to send a clear message that agree or not, the US will continue to respond to Iranian provocations. The strikes are the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth between US forces and Iran-backed groups in Syria that has quickly escalated. The US has said it does not seek conflict with Iran, but has vowed to respond to attacks against US forces in the region. Lt. Gen. John Brennan, commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement: “We will not tolerate these brazen attacks and will respond aggressively using any and all means at our disposal to protect and defend ourselves, the our partners. and innocent citizens”. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, targeting “infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he previously said Col. Joe Buccino, CENTCOM spokesman; in the statement. A senior administration official told CNN that Biden asked for response options early last week and the issue was discussed during a national security meeting in the Oval Office when the President was in Washington to sign the inflation-reducing bill on the 16 August. On Monday, Biden was briefed on the options by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and ordered the strike after that briefing, the official said. Iran condemned the US airstrikes and denied any link to the groups targeted at the site, in a statement citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. “The US attack on Syrian infrastructure and people is a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Ellie Kaufman, Hamdi Alkhshali and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
