The risk had always been there. Biden’s administration pledged to respond to attacks on U.S personnel in Syria and it did. Now the question is, will it end there?
On a mission to advise and assist local forces in efforts to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State(ISIS), the United States has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq.
ISIS seized large swathes of both countries in 2014 but was later defeated.
Of recent times, attacks have been made against U.S personnel in Syria.
According to officials, US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria had been attacked at least 16 times this month by “Iranian-backed militia groups.”
A total of 21 U.S personnel have been injured in the attacks, most of them suffering traumatic brain injuries.
One U.S contractor died during one of the attacks after having a cardiac incident while he was sheltering.
In response, the United States has hit a weapons storage facility and an ammunition storage facility in Syria allegedly used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed groups.
The strikes were ordered by President Biden.
Such retaliation and strikes against Iranian targets in Syria after similar attacks on US bases are not new.
In March, for example, the U.S struck sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s revolutionary guard after an Iranian-linked attack killed a U.S contractor and wounded seven other Americans in northeast Syria.
However, this time, the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war lurks around, sparking growing concern that the conflict could spread through the Middle East and turn U.S. troops at isolated bases into targets.
US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin said in a statement, “The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against U.S forces are unacceptable and must stop.”
“These narrowly-tailored strikes in self-defence were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Lloyd Austin
Though U.S claims its attacks are “separate and distinct” from the ongoing war, a truth that cannot be ignored is the possibility of opening another front in the Israel-Hamas war or sparking a diferent conflict altogether.
The Iran backed groups can stage a counterattack, luring U.S, Israel’s staunch ally to fight back in defense. When this happens, Israel may be forced to launch airstrikes or send troops to Syria. Consequently, escalating into a full-blown war.
Now, the U.S has to juggle between hitting Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the US as strongly as possible to deter future aggression and working to avoid inflaming the region and provoking a wider conflict
Carpet Bombing Continues
Meanwhile, Israel has not relented in its mass bombardment in the Gaza Strip. Multiple strikes at dawn on Friday, October 27, 2023, hit an area in the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, destroying residential buildings and the nearby White Mosque.
Several other targets near Gaza City were also struck, including the neighbourhoods of al-Zaytoun and al-Shujayea.
At least 10 people were killed in the Israeli strike on a four-storey house owned by the al-Nadim family in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City. Witnesses said the strike hit without any warning.
Two Israeli air raids hit the residence of the al-Hur family in the Nuseirat refugee camp, resulting in deaths and injuries of inhabitants.
In southern Gaza, residents were killed and several others were injured when an aircraft bombarded the home of the Satri family in the Khan Younis refugee camp.
Israeli forces also carried out pre-dawn raids in the occupied West Bank.
