Washington, 27 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) — The US launched airstrikes in eastern Syria early on Friday in response to attacks by pro-Iranian militias.

Two facilities used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and their allies were targeted, the US Department of Defense in Washington said.

"These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defence were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement published on the Department of Defense website.

"They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict," the statement said.

"The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop," the statement continued.

According to the Pentagon, Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq have been using drones and missiles to attack bases used by the US military, since October 17. In one case, a US citizen suffered a heart attack and died during the shelling.

Twenty-one other US citizens were slightly injured but have already returned to work. The Pentagon said that further measures would be taken in the event of future attacks. The US think tank Washington Institute counted a total of 18 attacks up to Thursday, 11 of them in Iraq.

The security situation is tense across the region because of the Gaza war, which began with attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is part of a series of militant groups that are supported by Iran in the region. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.

As a deterrent, the US has moved more weapons systems, warships and air squadrons to the Eastern Mediterranean, and is deploying some 900 troops to the Middle East to support US units there.