US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says US forces have attacked a facility in Syria used by Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.

Austin said in a statement that two US F-15 fighter jets struck a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria on Wednesday.

He explained that the precision strike was for self-defense, in response to attacks against US military personnel in Syria and Iraq by affiliates of the Quds Force, a unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps that specializes in foreign operations.

Austin said, "The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation."

The US is concerned that the Israeli-Hamas conflict could spread to other areas in the Middle East.

It is especially wary of Iran-backed forces in the region.

On October 26, US forces conducted what it called "self-defense" strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by the Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.