<span style="color: #222222;">The U.S. military has said that it carried out air strikes yesterday in Syria's Deir al-Zor against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps. The US military's Central Command in a statement said that such strikes were aimed at protecting U.S. forces from attack by Iran-backed groups.<br />''</span><br />''However, The statement did not mention whether there were any casualties. The US also hit operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one in Iraq in June last year.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during Obama's administration's campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. According to media reports, there are about 900 U.S. troops in Syria, most of them in the east.</span><br />