(NewsNation) — U.S. troops have faced a slew of attacks in the Middle East with the latest being a strike on a U.S. military base in Iraq.

“It was unsuccessful, no personnel injured, no equipment damaged. But again, it is indicative of the kind of behavior that we’ve seen from these Iranian-backed proxy groups,” said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, press secretary for the Department of Defense.

Ryder joined “NewsNation Prime” to discuss the recent string of attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East, saying it is not indicative of a proxy war between the U.S. and Iran.

“I certainly hope not, our goal here is to do a couple of things. One is to ensure that our forces can operate and do their missions safely,” Ryder said, adding the U.S. also wants “to send a very loud message, both to potential adversaries and to our partners, that we want to deter a broader regional conflict.”

According to the Pentagon, as of Friday, there had been at least 20 attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17.

Ryder said 21 U.S. personnel were injured in two of those assaults when drones targeted al-Assad airbase in Iraq and al-Tanf garrison in Syria.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the “precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.”

The Biden administration has not accused Iran of having a direct role in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and has said it appears so far that Tehran was not aware of it beforehand.

“This is not the first time these types of groups have done these kinds of things, we’ve seen them do in the past. And we’ve successfully deterred them from conducting these kinds of operations,” Ryder said. “We’re going to do whatever we need to do to ensure that our forces are protected and that they can stay focused on their mission.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.