Tehran – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Sunday it launched missiles into eastern Syria targeting Islamic State militants in response to an attack on Iran’s parliament and a shrine in Tehran, warning that it would retaliate in like manner on anyone else carrying out attacks in Iran.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The paramilitary force said it launched surface-to-surface medium range missiles into Syria’s Deir el-Zour province, an extremely rare direct attack from the Islamic Republic amid its support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.
A Guard statement carried on its website said the strike came from its bases in western Iran. It said many “terrorists” were killed and their weapons had been destroyed in the strike.
The paramilitary force warned Islamic State militants and their “regional and international supporters” that similar retaliatory attacks would target them as well if another assault in Iran occurs.
Activists in Syria did not immediately have information about the Iranian-claimed strikes. Deir el-Zour is home to both Islamic State militants and civilians.
Five Islamic State-linked attackers stormed Iran’s parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on June 7, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 50.
Is the enemy of our enemy our friend?