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US airstrikes hit IRGC site in Syria in latest bid to halt attacks

Biden administration ups the ante by targeting a training facility and a safe house used by Iran's IRGC and associated militias near Syria's border with Iraq, after previous strikes failed to halt rocket and drone attacks against US forces.

A F-18 Hornet fighter jet prepares to land on the deck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 8, 2018.
A F-18 Hornet fighter jet prepares to land on the deck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 8, 2018. — Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — US warplanes struck two facilities in eastern Syria on Sunday as the Biden administration attempted to halt a cycle of attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria against US troops amid Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

US aircraft dropped precision-guided munitions on a training facility near Albukamal and a safe house used by Iran-backed militias and members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) near Syria's eastern border with Iraq, US officials said Sunday.

"The president has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Why it matters: The strikes mark the third time US President Joe Biden has authorized aerial strikes on IRGC-linked sites in Syria in less than three weeks.

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