The U.S. military has conducted strikes against nine targets associated with Iranian groups in Syria in response to recent attacks on U.S. personnel. These strikes aim to degrade the ability of Iranian-backed groups to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces. The U.S. has previously carried out strikes against targets linked to Iran in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, working to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State.