93-3-WMR Audio on Demand presents the Preston and Steve show podcast.

And now, Preston and Steve's news updates with Kathy Romano.

And today is Friday, the 27th day of October.

Good morning.

We'll start with this.

U.S. military aircraft carried out strikes in eastern Syria against

facilities associated with Iranian-backed militant groups believed to be responsible for more

than a dozen rocket and drone attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria that injured 21 service members.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today at President Biden's direction,

U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, and affiliated groups. The retaliatory operations were

carried out at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East amid the ongoing Israel-Hama's war in the wake of Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7th and U.S. concerns about preventing that conflict from enveloping the rest of the region.

Austin continued saying the United States has not seek conflict and is not intention nor desire

to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. forces are

unacceptable and must stop.

If attacks by Iran's proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take

further necessary measures to protect our people.

America has deployed two aircraft carriers as well as additional fighter squadrons and air defense systems to the Middle East to deter Iran or Hezbollah,

the Iran-sponsored Milton Group that operates in southern Lebanon from getting involved by launching a wider assault on Israel.

Senior U.S. officials have publicly blamed Iran

for the more than 16 drone and rocket attacks on military bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week,

which the U.S. believes have been carried out by Iranian-backed militant groups.

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