According to the Pentagon, there were no Iranian deaths in the recent U.S. strikes against Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria, as reported by Reuters. The United States conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday, targeting over 85 sites associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the militias it supports, in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. troops.
Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder informed reporters that initial data suggested that the strikes did not result in any Iranian casualties. However, he mentioned that other casualties were likely, without providing specifics.
The Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq, a state security force comprising Iran-backed groups, asserted that 16 of its members, including fighters and medics, had been killed in the strikes. The government also stated that 16 civilians were among the deceased.
Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that in Syria, the strikes resulted in the deaths of 23 people who were guarding the targeted locations.
Ryder indicated that it is reasonable to assume that there were likely casualties associated with the strikes, and that an evaluation of the situation was ongoing. He also revealed that there had been two attacks against U.S. troops in Syria following the Friday strikes, but there were no injuries to U.S. personnel.
The Pentagon has stressed that it does not seek war with Iran and does not believe that Tehran wants war either. This assertion comes even as Republican pressure mounts on U.S. President Joe Biden to directly confront Iran.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
