The U.S. military launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed terrorists in Syria on Thursday night after a U.S. contractor was killed and five U.S. service members and an additional U.S. contractor were injured in an attack by a suicide drone.
U.S. intelligence said that the attack was carried out by a “one-way unmanned aerial vehicle” that “struck a maintenance facility on a Coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. local time.”
The Pentagon said that the precision airstrikes were launched to “limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties.”
“This evening, we responded to an attack on our forces that killed an American contractor and wounded our troops and another American contractor by striking facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” U.S. Central Command later added. “We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing.”
“We are postured for scalable options in the face of any additional Iranian attacks,” the statement continued. “The thoughts and prayers of U.S. Central Command are with the Family of our contractor killed and with our wounded servicemembers and contractor.”
The statement said that U.S. forces remained stationed in Syria “to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, which benefits the security and stability of not only Syria, but the entire region.”
