WASHINGTON – The US military will respond appropriately and proportionately to any attacks on service members and will continue to take all necessary measures to defend our people, Pentagon press secretary Air Force General Pat Ryder told reporters.
At least three “Iranian-affiliated militant” were killed in multiple US strikes in northeast Syria over the past 24 hours, the Pentagon said.
Ryder said the first US strike was in response to Wednesday’s rocket attacks against two US mission support sites, in which three US service members suffered minor injuries. The US strike killed four militants.
“Certainly time will tell,” said Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary. “Based on the strikes that we have taken, we’ve sent a very loud and clear message, and a proportional message, that any threat against our forces who are operating in Syria or anywhere will not be tolerated. My hope would be that these groups would have received the message loud and clear and that we will not see similar behavior in future.”
