On February 15, 2021, the United States launched missile attacks on Syria. 

Two F-15 Fighter jets dropped seven precision-guided munitions on these buildings, destroying nine structures and damaging two. 

The Pentagon stated that the targeted buildings were used by Iranian-backed militias, which were responsible for an attack on a U.S airbase (that killed a civilian contractor and wounded a United States service member). 

These buildings were located in Abu Kamal, close to the Iraqi border. 

The Syrian government responded to the bombing by saying it was a “cowardly U.S aggression.”

Russia, one of the chief backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said that the U.S was operating in Syria illegally and called for better communication of the Biden administration. 

The Pentagon defended by the strike by arguing that countries have the right to self-defense. The U.S. government claims that the airstrike retaliation wasn’t intended to escalate hostility with Iran, but punish the people who organized the rocket attack. 

There were 22 reported casualties that followed the airstrike. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a majority of those 22 people were members of Iraqi militias. They added that the death toll was expected to increase, due to the number of people seriously injured. 

“Hearing about the airstrike was really unsettling to me. It’s sad that the world has had to come to this but, if Biden felt like the U.S was defending itself and how the airstrikes were justified, I’m gonna stand by him until further evidence proves he was in the wrong. I just wish people didn’t have to lose their lives over stuff like this,” said Isabella Guerrero (‘21).

Ultimately, the United States stands by the decision to launch airstrikes against Syria. Biden warned Iran by saying that “you can’t act with impunity, be careful.” In his eyes, Iran attacked first, and the United States defended itself.