The Pentagon reported that the US military launched numerous airstrikes in Syria on Thursday night against Iran-aligned groups that it accused of being responsible for a deadly drone assault that left one American contractor dead, another injured, and five US service members wounded earlier in the day.
The Pentagon announced the attack on American personnel and the response at the same moment late on Thursday.It said the assault on American personnel happened at a coalition base close to Hasakah in northeast Syria at around 1:38 pm (17:38 MUT) on Thursday.
According to the military, the U.S. intelligence agency determined that the one-sided assault drone was Iranian, a finding that could exacerbate already tense relations between the USA and Iran.
According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, President Joe Biden ordered the retaliatory attacks, which targeted locations used by organizations connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (IRGC).
Kurilla, testifying to the House Armed Services Committee earlier on Thursday, warned about Iran’s fleet of drones.
The largest and most effective unmanned aerial vehicle army in the area is currently held by the Iranian regime, he claimed.
In the Al-Tanf region of Syria in January, three drones targeted a US base. According to the US military, two of the drones were shot down, and the third one crashed into the complex, injuring two Syrian Free Army soldiers.
As a reminder of the intricate geopolitics of Syria, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad relies on the support of Russia and Iran and views American forces as occupiers, US officials think that militias supported by Iran are behind the drone and rocket attacks.
The assault occurred only a few weeks after Mark Milley, the top American general, visited northeast Syria to evaluate the mission against Islamic State and the danger to American troops.
