The United States Central Command, which is responsible for operations in Syria, says the new bombings have claimed the lives of two or three people. The airstrike was in response to coordinated rocket attacks by pro-Iranian militias on two US military facilities in the region, it is said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports three militiamen killed in the US airstrike, which took place in the eastern province of Deir Ez-Zor.
The first bombing had killed six militiamen on Tuesday, according to the SOHR. Top Pentagon official Colin Kahl said in Washington on Wednesday that the move was necessary to protect U.S. forces in the region. The American soldiers have been shot at by the militia several times, he stressed. “This operation shows that the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression.”
Pro-Iranian militias support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The US troops are backing the Kurds and their allies in their fight against the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).