US military carried out strikes in eastern Syria against two facilities used by Iran-backed militant group, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), today. US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, in a statement said the US military forces conducted these precision self-defense strikes as a response to a series of ongoing attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria that began on October 17. Reportedly one contractor was killed and 21 American servicemen injured. He emphasised that these strikes are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.<br />