Syria: US military responds to drone attack, eight pro-Iranians killed

US troops and armored vehicles at the al-Omar oil site in Deir Ezzor province, Syria on March 23, 2019 (illustration image). REUTERS/Rodi Said

Text by: RFI Follow

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Eight pro-Iranian fighters were killed in U.S. airstrikes in eastern Syria on the night of Thursday, March 23 to Friday, March 24, carried out in response to a drone attack that killed one American and wounded six others.

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Washington announced that US forces carried out, on the night of Thursday, March 23 to Friday, March 24, "precision airstrikes" in eastern Syria after a drone attack that killed one American and wounded six others. U.S. intelligence considers the drone to be "of Iranian origin," according to the Pentagon. "US strikes targeted an arms depot in the city of Deir Ezzor, killing six pro-Iranian fighters," said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria. "Two other fighters were killed by strikes on positions of Iranian groups near Mayadine and another near al-Boukamal," the NGO added.

Strong Iranian presence

Iranian groups and their allies, who fight alongside the Damascus regime, have a strong presence in these areas close to the border with Iraq, which are an important crossing point for weapons to Syria. The drone attack took place around 10:38 a.m. GMT on Thursday against a maintenance facility at a base near Hasakah, the Pentagon said in a statement. The deceased is an American contractor, and the wounded are five soldiers and another contractor also American, according to the same source.

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I authorized U.S. Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps. "Iranians," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was quoted as saying in the statement. The airstrikes were carried out "in response to today's attack as well as a series of recent attacks on coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps," Austin said.

Several hundred U.S. troops

Several hundred US troops are in Syria as part of a coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State (IS) group. They are frequently targeted in militia attacks. U.S. troops are backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds' de facto army in the region, which led the battle that dislodged IS from the last territory it controlled in Syria in 2019.

(

With AFP)

► Read also: Syria: two rocket attacks of unknown origin target a US base (November 26, 2022

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  • Syria
  • United States
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  • Diplomacy