US conducts strike against ‘imminent threat’ in Syria
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle conducts combat patrols over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Oct. 20, 2024. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
The United States’ Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed a military strike in eastern Syria targeting weapons systems that posed an immediate danger to its forces, as conflict escalates across the region.
This morning, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed several weapon systems in the vicinity of Military Support Site Euphrates that included three truck mounted Multiple Rocket Launchers, a T-64 tank, an armored personnel carrier, and mortars that presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and Coalition forces.
The self-defense strike occurred after the truck mounted Multiple Rocket Launcher, armored personnel carrier, and mortars were fired toward U.S. forces.
CENTCOM
Pentagon confirms targeted strike in Syria
Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder announced on Tuesday that the U.S. military neutralized a variety of weapons, including truck-mounted rocket launchers, a T-64 tank, and mortars near the Military Support Site (MSS) Euphrates.
The weapons were described as a “clear and imminent threat” after they allegedly fired rockets near the U.S. base and toward American forces.
“This was a self-defense action aimed at protecting our personnel and coalition forces,” Ryder said. He emphasized that the strike was unrelated to broader activities involving other groups in northwest Syria.
However, reports from the ground indicate that U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft were spotted in Deir-ez-Zor, Syria, providing close air support to PKK/YPG members during their attack on Assad regime forces.
Conflict intensifies across Syria
The strike comes as Syria sees an uptick in violence, with opposition forces launching a wide campaign in the northwest against government troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed YPG, which is an umbrella group dominated by
the PKK’s Syrian offshoot, also a terrorist organization recognized by both the U.S. and their allies reportedly clashed with Syrian government forces east of the Euphrates River near Deir-ez Zor.
Syrian state media reported the U.S. providing air support for the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in these confrontations, a claim the Pentagon has not addressed directly.
US’ UN Security Council briefing remarks
During the U.N. Security Council briefing on Syria, Ambassador Robert Wood stated the U.S.’s position on recent events and said, “The United States is closely monitoring the situation in Syria.”
For many years the Syrian government has been engaged in a civil war backed by Iran, Russia, and Hizballah. All three of those actors have recently been distracted and weakened by conflicts elsewhere – and so it is no surprise that we have seen actors in Syria try and take advantage of that over the last several days.”
Indeed, the Assad regime’s ongoing refusal to engage in the political process outlined in Resolution 2254, and its reliance on Russia and Iran, created the conditions now unfolding, including the collapse of the Assad regime lines in northwest Syria.
At the same time, the recent rebel offensive – which the United States had nothing to do with – is led by a group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, otherwise known as HTS, that is a U.S. and UN designated terrorist organization. We obviously have concerns about this group.
Recent events serve as a stark reminder that Syria will never be at peace until Assad accepts a settlement that gives all Syrians a voice in the country’s future.
Ambassador Robert Wood
