Drone strike kills, injures US troops in Syria, US retaliates
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A US contractor was killed, and five other service members and another contractor were wounded when a suspected Iranian drone struck a facility on a base of the US-led Global Coalition in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said.
In a statement released late on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said US Central Command forces retaliated with “precision airstrikes” against facilities in eastern Syria used by militias affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Department of Defense said the intelligence community had determined the unmanned aerial vehicle was of Iranian origin.
“The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria by the groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard,” Austin said.
Overnight, videos on social media purported to show explosions in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor, a governorate borders Iraq and contains oil fields.
There was no immediate reaction from Iran over the strikes, which come during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Austin said he authorized the retaliatory strikes at the direction of President Joe Biden.
“As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” Austin noted, adding, “No group will strike our troops with impunity.”
The Pentagon said two of the wounded service members were treated on site, while three others and the injured contractor were transported to medical facilities in Iraq, AP reported.