Damascus Says US Occupation of Syrian Territory ‘Cannot Continue’

The overnight attacks killed “a number of civilians and soldiers, wounded others, and caused significant damage to public and private property”, the Syrian military said in a statement on Saturday, Al-Jazeera reported.

“The occupation of parts of Syrian territory by US forces cannot continue,” it added, affirming the army’s “determination to liberate all Syrian territory from terrorism and occupation”.

The United States has some 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in neighbouring Iraq as part of ‘an international coalition against the armed group ISIL’ (also known as ISIS or Daesh) – a force that once controlled swathes of both countries.

“What [the US] committed has served to fuel conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way,” Damascus’ Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces struck more than 85 targets in the two countries “with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States”.

US President Joe Biden said in a statement that the strikes were the first in a series of actions by Washington in response to a drone attack that killed three soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan.