Coalition says no casualties reported in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor attack
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) announced on Monday that no casualties or damages to the US-led Global Coalition infrastructure were reported in the “indirect fire attack” that hit Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commanding general of CJTF-OIR, condemned in a press release the attack, describing it as a “hostile activity.”
However, the Coalition’s service members responded the attack that was carried out at about 5:51 pm on Monday.
McFarlane said, “These attacks are reckless and needlessly endanger the people of northeast Syria.”
He noted that this attack is meant to “detract us from our mission,” confirming the coalition’s commitment to enable partners in Syria and Iraq to “ensure the enduring defeat” of Islamic State (ISIS).
On March 23, 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.
In response, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) attacked with “precision airstrikes” against facilities in eastern Syria used by militias affiliated with Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Thirteen militants of the Iranian militias were killed and wounded, sources told North Press.
Following the US retaliatory strikes, the Iranian-backed militant in Syria launched a series of additional attacks on the US troops based at Conoco and the Green Village in northeast Syria.
On March 24, the US President Joe Biden, while on a visit to Canada, pledged to “act forcefully” to protect his troops against Iranian-backed attacks.
Biden stressed that the US “does not seek conflict with Iran but is prepared to act forcefully to protect our people.”
There are roughly 900 US troops are involved in aerial surveillance, coordinating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), civilian aid provision, tribal engagement, as well as medical evacuations of SDF troops in northeast Syria.