In a statement released on Thursday, the Pentagon confirmed that a suicide drone attack had taken place at a coalition base in northeast Syria. The attack resulted in the death of a U.S. contractor and left another contractor and five U.S. service members injured. The strike targeted a maintenance facility on the base, and the Pentagon is currently investigating the incident.
U.S. intelligence analysts have determined that the drone used in the attack on a coalition base in northeast Syria was of "Iranian origin." The attack took place near Hasaka at 1:38 p.m. local time
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III stated that he directed airstrikes on establishments in eastern Syria that were being utilized by organizations linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (I.R.G.C).
“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 I.R.G.C.,” Mr. Austin said in a statement released late Thursday.
“These precision strikes are intended to protect and defend U.S. personnel,” the statement said. “The United States took proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties.”
The United States attacked a munition warehouse, a control building and an intelligence-collection site, a senior U.S. military official said.
The airstrikes are expected to escalate tensions with Iran, which according to Biden administration officials are the largest security threat in the Middle east.
.The drones are part of a rapidly evolving threat from Iranian proxies in Syria, with militia forces specialized in operating more sophisticated weaponry hitting some of the most sensitive American targets in attacks that evaded U.S. defenses.
Two of the injured service personnel received medical attention at the location of the attack, whereas the other three service members and the contractor were evacuated for medical treatment to coalition medical facilities located in Iraq.
The identity of the dead contractor has yet not been released. Defense Secretay Lloyd Austin send condoloscense to the familes of who suffered the attack and said, “Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the contractor who was killed and with those who were wounded in the attack earlier today,”
During a congressional testimony on Thursday, General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, reported that there have been 78 attacks on installations that house U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since January of 2021. The attacks, primarily executed through drones and rockets, are believed to have been carried out by Iran or Iranian-supported proxies.