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U.S. Strikes Facilities in Syria Used by Iran-Backed Militia in Retaliatory Action

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The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by militia groups backed by the Iranian regime. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.

The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China’s communist party.

“This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, John Kirby, said in announcing the strikes.

“The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.”

Kirby said the U.S. airstrikes “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups.” (Read more from “U.S. Strikes Facilities in Syria Used by Iran-Backed Militia in Retaliatory Action” HERE)

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U.S. Airstrikes Take Down 12 Al-Qaeda and Taliban Operators

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American airstrikes have killed a dozen al-Qaeda and Taliban members in Syria and Afghanistan since Thursday.

On Monday, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett confirmed that American troops had conducted a strike in defense of Afghan troops. The operation killed five Taliban fighters and had no civilian casualties.

The same day, U.S. Central Command spokeswoman Maj. Beth Riordan confirmed an airstrike that killed seven al-Qaeda in Syria (AQ-S) operators.

“The removal of these AQ-S leaders will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians,” Riordan said.

Reports of these strikes come soon after another major blow to al-Qaeda. On Sunday, Afghan forces confirmed the death of group propaganda chief Husam Abd al-Rauf, a top aide to leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. (Read more from “U.S. Airstrikes Take Down 12 Al-Qaeda and Taliban Operators” HERE)

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The U.S. Military’s Stats on Deadly Airstrikes Are Wrong. Thousands Have Gone Unreported

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The American military has failed to publicly disclose potentially thousands of lethal airstrikes conducted over several years in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, a Military Times investigation has revealed. The enormous data gap raises serious doubts about transparency in reported progress against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, and calls into question the accuracy of other Defense Department disclosures documenting everything from costs to casualty counts.

In 2016 alone, U.S. combat aircraft conducted at least 456 airstrikes in Afghanistan that were not recorded as part of an open-source database maintained by the U.S. Air Force, information relied on by Congress, American allies, military analysts, academic researchers, the media and independent watchdog groups to assess each war’s expense, manpower requirements and human toll. Those airstrikes were carried out by attack helicopters and armed drones operated by the U.S. Army, metrics quietly excluded from otherwise comprehensive monthly summaries, published online for years, detailing American military activity in all three theaters.

Most alarming is the prospect this data has been incomplete since the war on terrorism began in October 2001. If that is the case, it would fundamentally undermine confidence in much of what the Pentagon has disclosed about its prosecution of these wars, prompt critics to call into question whether the military sought to mislead the American public, and cast doubt on the competency with which other vital data collection is being performed and publicized. Those other key metrics include American combat casualties, taxpayer expense and the military’s overall progress in degrading enemy capabilities. (Read more from “The U.S. Military’s Stats on Deadly Airstrikes Are Wrong. Thousands Have Gone Unreported” HERE)

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