After taking the oath, US President Joe Biden ordered his first airstrike on Syria. According to the Pentagon, the airstrike was planned against the Iran-backed militia. The strike was a calibrated response to rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq.
Confirming the attack took place on the direction of Mr President, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement,
“At President (Joe) Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria.”
Kirby added,
“President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.”
Kirby also told that the strikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS).
However, Syria officially has not released any statement over the issue confirming or denying the attack. The damages that are done on-site after the attack have also not been reported officially.
Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the strikes were the right move, reported Reuters.