US military strikes Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. struck nine targets at two locations in Syria Monday to hit Iranian-aligned militias that had launched attacks on U.S. personnel over the last 24 hours, U.S. Central Command said.

No U.S. personnel were injured in the attacks, but as of late Monday the Pentagon did not provide further details on what U.S. sites in Syria had been attacked or what sites the U.S. struck in return.

The U.S. has about 900 personnel in Syria to assist partnered forces in conducting missions against Islamic State militants. In February it launched a massive attack on Iranian-backed militia sites in Syria in response to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.

Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, and Israel’s large-scale response in Gaza, Iran-backed fighters who are loosely allied with Hamas have carried out drone and rocket attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.