US Defense Secretary Confirms Strike on Weapons Facility Tied to Iran
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says two F-15s have hit a weapons facility in eastern Syria in ‘a self defense strike.’
Two United States F-15s have conducted a strike against a weapons facility used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups in eastern Syria, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the Nov. 8 military operation “a self defense strike” at the direction of President Joe Biden.
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Mr. Austin said.
“The United States is fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities; we urge against any escalation,” he added.
![F-15 Eagle flies during the New York Air Show at Orange County Airport, N.Y., on June 24, 2023. (Petr Svab/The Epoch Times)](https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F06%2F30%2Fid5367626-06242023-DSC08939-600x401.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
The U.S. military previously carried out multiple air strikes in Syria on March 23 against Iran-aligned groups blamed for a drone attack.
Reaper Drone Shot Down Near Yemen
A U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone was also shot down in international airspace near Yemen on Nov. 8, according to a Department of Defense (DOD) official.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, the DOD official confirmed that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces had shot down a Reaper drone.
The Houthis are a Zaydi Shiite movement that has been fighting Yemen’s internationally-recognized government since 2004. The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, triggering a brutal civil war and humanitarian crisis in the country.
![An MQ-9 Reaper drone flies by during a training mission at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)](https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F06%2F16%2FGettyImages-497592642-600x406.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
According to the Houthis spokesperson, the drone, which the United States says was in international airspace, was carrying out “hostile, monitoring, and spying operations” and was shot down by an “appropriate weapon.”
“Hostile acts won’t deter the Yemeni armed forces from continuing to conduct military operations against the Israeli entity in solidarity to the oppression of the Palestinian nation,” the spokesperson said.