US strikes pro-Iran sites in Syria following a contractor's death by drone

 

On Thursday, after a devastating drone strike on a Coalition facility close to the northeastern city of Hasaka killed an American contractor, the US military conducted "precise airstrikes" against pro-Iran militants in eastern Syria.

According to the US Department of Defense, a drone "hit a maintenance facility on a Coalition base in Hasakah in northeast Syria at around 1:38 p.m. local time," killing one US contractor and injuring six others, including five military members and another contractor.

The Pentagon statement also stated that "the intelligence community judges the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] to be of Iranian origin."

After receiving approval from President Joseph Biden, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered "precise attacks" on organizations linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in eastern Syria.

Austin added that Washington "took proportionate and deliberate action" to reduce casualties and the risk of escalation. "The airstrikes 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.

A multinational coalition that has battled with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combating the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group includes hundreds of US troops stationed in Syria.

Although they have never made a formal claim, Iran-backed militias and factions are frequently blamed for attacks on US personnel in Syria.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) declared on Friday that the US will "always take all necessary steps" to protect its forces and that it is ready for any Iranian attacks.

Over the past year, the number of tit-for-tat exchanges between the US and Iran in Syria and Iraq has declined. In an attack it claimed was in retaliation to an attack on a US base, US forces launched airstrikes against facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor in August.