US Air Strikes in Syria After Death of American Contractor in Iran-Backed Drone Attack

Multiple air strikes were made by the US military in Syria on Thursday (US time) against Iran-aligned groups. These air strikes followed the death of an American contractor in a deadly drone attack by Iran-backed groups. Five US defense personnel were also injured in this drone attack.

Both the attack on US personnel and the retaliation were disclosed by the Pentagon at the same time. The drone attack against US forces took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1.38 pm (1038 GMT) on Thursday.

The US intelligence community has ascertained that the drone involved in the attack was of Iranian origin. This incident will aggravate already strained relations between Washington and Tehran.

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 Guards Corps (IRGC).

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is suspected of carrying out attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the Middle East. But Iran has denied being responsible for these attacks.