US Conducts Airstrikes In Eastern Syria In Response To Drone Attack On Coalition Base

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The US armed forces carried out airstrikes on facilities of groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) after an Iranian drone attacked a coalition base in northeast Syria, killing one US contractor, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the drone of Iranian origin attacked a maintenance facility at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria, the US Department of Defense noted.

"At the direction of (US) President (Joe) Biden, I authorized U.

S. Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). 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.

One US contractor was killed and five US service members and one additional US contractor were injured as a result of the attack, the Pentagon noted.