Syria condemns U.S. strikes, branding Washington as primary source of global instability

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday lashed out at the U.S. administration for its attacks in eastern Syria, accusing Washington of being the primary source of global instability.

In a scathing statement, the ministry said the U.S. military forces are threatening international security and peace through attacks on nations, peoples, and sovereignty and escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

The ministry accused the United States of attempting to revive terrorist activities in the region, emphasizing its consistent role in escalating conflicts in the already volatile Middle East.

In a critique directed at the U.S. administration for conducting a series of airstrikes on military positions in eastern Syria after midnight, reportedly targeting Iranian-backed militias' strongholds, the ministry asserted that the attack is just one instance of the recurrent violations by the United States. The ministry cited a pattern of aggression, including actions by the alleged international coalition formed in 2014.

It strongly denounced what it deemed as U.S. backing for terrorism, civilian casualties and the ongoing exploitation of Syrian national resources.

Besides, the ministry criticized the U.S. administration for neglecting the United Nations Charter and international law, expressing apprehension about the "paralysis" within the United Nations Security Council. It attributed this paralysis to U.S. interference, impeding the council's ability to address the alleged serious violations.

Earlier on Friday, the White House confirmed that U.S. military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan on Sunday that killed three U.S. soldiers. The facilities that were targeted were being used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and militias affiliated with it to attack U.S. forces, the White House alleged.

"Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday. 

While neither Syrian state media nor the army reported an exact number of casualties resulting from the U.S. airstrikes, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that 18 militants were killed as the strikes hit strongholds of the Iranian-backed militias along 130 kilometers of areas in Deir al-Zour. 

(With input from agencies)