U.S. strikes Iran-backed groups in Syria after drone kills an American and injures 6 others

2023-03-24

U.S. soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province in 2021. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

A U.S. contractor was killed and five American service members were wounded, along with another U.S. contractor, in a drone strike in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

Details: A U.S. intelligence assessment determined that the "one-way unmanned aerial vehicle" that struck a maintenance facility on a coalition base near Hasakah was "of Iranian origin," per a U.S. Defense Department statement issued late Thursday.

Two of the wounded service members were treated on site, while the three others and the U.S. contractor were taken to coalition medical facilities in Iraq following the incident, which happened just after 1.30pm local time, according to the statement.

What they're saying: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that, at the direction of President Biden, he authorized U.S. Central Command forces to "conduct precision airstrikes" on Thursday night in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

"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," he said.
"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 added. "No group will strike our troops with impunity."

The big picture: Former President Trump announced the withdrawal of thousands of American troops in Syria in 2019 following the defeat of ISIS, but some 900 remain in the country.

Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said during congressional testimony on Thursday that Iranian proxies were believed to be behind 78 attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria since January 2021.
"What Iran does to hide its hand is they use Iranian proxies," Kurilla told the House Armed Services Committee. "That's either UAVs or rockets to be able to attack our forces in either Iraq or Syria."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

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