U.S. forces launched strikes against nine Iran-linked targets in Syria, a response to several attacks on American troops in the region over the last 24 hours, U.S. Central Command officials said Monday.

The strikes are intended to degrade the ability of the Iran-backed militant forces to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Syria. The allies are deployed to conduct operations against the remnants of ISIS forces that once held sway over vast sections of the region, officials said.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said the message of the strikes to groups allied to Tehran was clear. 

“Attacks against U.S. and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated,” Gen. Kurilla said. “We will continue to take every step necessary to protect our personnel and coalition partners and respond to reckless attacks.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.