US Launches Airstrikes in Syria After Drone Attack Kills US Contractor
The Pentagon announced on Thursday night that it launched airstrikes in Syria after a drone attack killed a US contractor and wounded five US troops near Hasakah in northeast Syria.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that at the direction of President Biden, he authorized “US 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 groups the US targeted were likely Shia militias that operate in Syria. The Pentagon claimed that US intelligence determined the drone was of “Iranian origin,” but at this point, there’s no indication that Tehran was involved in the attack on the US base.
