The US military carried out several airstrikes in Syria late on Thursday against Iran-aligned groups it blamed for a drone strike that killed one US collaborator, wounded another and also wounded five US soldiers, the US military said. Pentagon.
The attack on US officials and the retaliation were made public by the Pentagon at the same time on Thursday night.
The strike against the Americans took place at a coalition base near Hasakah, in northeast Syria, at approximately 1:38 pm local time on Thursday, according to the Pentagon.
The US intelligence community assessed that the strike drone was of Iranian origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already tense relations between Washington and Tehran.
Although US forces stationed in Syria have been targeted by drones before, casualties are extremely rare.
US 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 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.
“No group will attack our troops with impunity.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war in Syria, said US strikes left eight pro-Iranian fighters dead in Syria.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the number.
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
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