After an Iranian-backed Drone Attack Kills an American Contractor, the Us Launches Air Strikes in Syria
After a US contractor was killed and several others were injured in a suspected Iranian drone strike in northeast Syria on Thursday, US Central Command forces carried out ‘precise airstrikes’ against sites in eastern Syria.
By India Today World Desk: On Thursday (US time), the US military conducted multiple air attacks in Syria targeting Iran-aligned organizations. The strikes happened hours after an American contractor was murdered, while five US troops and another contractor were injured following a devastating drone strike by the organizations.
Both the attack on US personnel and the reaction were reported by the Pentagon at the same time late on Thursday.
The attack on US personnel occurred on Thursday at approximately 1.38 p.m. (1038 GMT) at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria.
The US intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained relations between Washington and Tehran.
According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the retaliatory strikes were ordered by President Joe Biden and targeted facilities affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard 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.
The US military on Thursday (US time) carried out multiple air strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned groups#US #Syria #Iranhttps://t.co/zEAYUB1RTo
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“No faction will strike our forces with impunity,” he added. Meanwhile, several social media videos claimed to show explosions in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor province, which borders Iraq and contains oil fields.
Iran-backed militia groups and the Syrian military control the area, which has also been the focus of suspected Israeli attacks in recent months aimed at Iranian supply routes.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been suspected of carrying out attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the wider Middle East.
In recent months, Moscow has begun utilizing Iranian drones in its attacks on locations around Ukraine as part of its campaign on Kyiv.
Iran has denied being responsible for these attacks, though Western nations and experts have tied components in the drones back to Tehran.
The attack and the US response threaten to upend recent efforts in the region to de-escalate tensions, as Saudi Arabia and Iran have been working towards reopening embassies in each other’s countries. The monarchy also confirmed efforts to reestablish its embassy in Syria, where embattled President Bashar Assad has received Iranian support during his country’s long war.