U.S carries out air strikes in Syria

The United States has carried out multiple air strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned groups.

According to the Pentagon, the strikes are in retaliation of a deadly drone attack that killed an American contractor, injured another and wounded five U.S. troops on Thursday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the retaliatory strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden and targeted facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

“The air strikes 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 in a statement.

“No group will strike our troops with impunity.”

The attack against U.S. personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. (1038 GMT) on Thursday, it said.

The U.S. intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Also Read: US urges UN to approve more aid access to Syria

The drone attack caused wounds that, for three services members and a contractor, required medical evacuation to Iraq, where the U.S.-led coalition battling the remnants of Islamic State has medical facilities, the military said.

The other two wounded American troops were treated at the base in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said.

The number of casualties – one killed and six wounded – is highly unusual, even though attempted drone attacks against U.S. personnel in Syria are somewhat common.

U.S. troops have come under attack by Iranian-backed groups about 78 times since the beginning of 2021, according to Army General Erik Kurilla, who oversees U.S. troops in the Middle East as the head of Central Command.

The attack came just weeks after the top U.S. general, Mark Milley, visited northeast Syria to assess the mission against Islamic State and the risk to U.S. personnel.

Zainab Sa’id