WASHINGTON: The United States (US) military has said it carried out multiple air strikes in eastern Syria against Iran-aligned groups whom it blamed for the deadly drone attack earlier, which killed a contractor, wounded another, and also wounded five United States troops, the Pentagon said.
The United States attacks late on Thursday night were in retaliation for an attack against a US-led coalition base near Hassakeh in northeastern Syria at approximately 01:38 pm the same day, the Pentagon said in a statement.
United States intelligence had assessed that the attacking drone was Iranian in origin. United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the attacks targeted groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGG) in eastern Syria.
Austin said that “The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC,”
Austin said that he authorised the retaliatory strikes on the direction of US President Joe Biden.
Austin said, “As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our citizens and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” “No group will strike our troops with impunity.”
US entered Syria in 2015
United States forces entered Syria in 2015, backing allied forces in their fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group.
The United States maintains the base that was attacked near Hassakeh. At the same time, an estimated 900 US troops are deployed in the country – and even more contractors – including in Syria’s north, south, and east.
Overnight, videos on media and social media purported to show explosions in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains oil fields, the Associated Press reported.
Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian armed forces control the area, which has also seen suspected air attacks by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency didn’t immediately acknowledge any United States strikes.
Syria’s mission to the United Nations (UN) didn’t respond to a request for comment. There was no reaction from Iran over the strikes.
Two of the wounded United States troops were treated at the base in Syria while three other wounded US soldiers and the US contractor were evacuated to the coalition medical facility in Iraq, the US Defence Department said.
The number of casualties in Thursday’s drone attack, one killed and six wounded, is highly unusual, even though attempted drone attacks against United States forces in Syria are somewhat common.
General Erik Kurilla, who oversees United States forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, said US forces have come under attack by Iranian-backed groups about 78 times since the beginning of 2021.
Kurilla, who testified to the United States House of Representatives Armed Services Committee earlier on Thursday, cautioned about Iran’s fleet of drones.
