The United States launched airstrikes early Friday in Syria in response to an attack it attributes to an Iranian drone that killed a US contractor, the Pentagon said.
It is not the first time that the United States has launched a military operation against alleged pro-Iranian militants in Syria under the presidency of Joe Biden.
In fact, the first military operation of his mandate, in February 2021, was also the response to an alleged Iranian rocket launch in the region.
In June of that year and in August 2022 there were also US airstrikes for the same reason,
“Following instructions from President Biden, I have authorized United States Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). ”, has declared the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, through a statement.
According to the Pentagon, a US contractor has been killed and five US servicemen and another contractor have been injured after a single-use drone struck a base maintenance facility near Hasakah in northeastern Syria. at approximately 1:38 p.m. local time.
"The intelligence community assesses that the UAV is of Iranian origin," the Department of Defense states.
Washington has carried out its operation in response to the strike of that Iranian drone.
"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 IRGC-affiliated groups," Austin added.
The Pentagon asserts that these precision strikes are intended to protect and defend US personnel.
The United States describes its measures as "proportionate and deliberate aimed at limiting the risk of escalation and minimizing casualties."
“As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary steps to defend our people and we will always respond at the time and place of our choosing,” Secretary Austin said.
"No group will attack our troops with impunity."
"Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the contractor who was killed and those who were injured in today's attack," he added.
Two of the wounded servicemen were treated on the spot, while three others and the US contractor were medically evacuated to Coalition medical facilities in Iraq.
The United States still maintains about a thousand soldiers and numerous non-military employees in Syria to try to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.
They are subjected to frequent attacks by militias with ties to the Iranian regime.
Washington considers Iran the main security threat in the region.
Iran is also one of Russia's few allies.
It has provided drones with which Moscow has ordered attacks on Ukraine that have hit military targets and civilian infrastructure.
Iran has denied responsibility for these attacks, although Western countries and experts have linked components of the drones to Tehran.
Syria's war began with the 2011 Arab Spring protests, which rocked the Middle East and toppled governments in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen.
It later morphed into a regional proxy conflict in which Russia and Iran have backed Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations estimates that more than 300,000 civilians have been killed in the war.
These figures do not include the soldiers and insurgents killed in the conflict, whose number is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
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