US carries out air strikes in Syria after Iran-backed drone attack kills American contractor

NEW DELHI, MARCH 24: The US military on Thursday (US time) carried out multiple air strikes in Syria against Iran-aligned groups. The attacks came hours after an American contractor was killed, while five US troops and another contractor were injured following a deadly drone strike by the groups.

Both the attack on US personnel and the retaliation were disclosed by the Pentagon at the same time late on Thursday.

The attack against US personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1.38 pm (1038 GMT) on Thursday, it said.

The US intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained relations between Washington and Tehran.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the retaliatory strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden and targeted facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

-Indiatoday