A U.S. base in Syria’s Al Omar region came under attack Friday after the U.S. conducted retaliatory airstrikes on an Iran-backed group, Reuters reported, citing a security source and local media.
The Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed late Thursday that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted precision airstrikes against facilities in Syria used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s paramilitary group. It remains unclear whether Friday’s attack was related to the retaliatory U.S. strike or conducted by the same group or incurred any casualties, according to Reuters.
The attack Friday took place at 11 a.m., a security source told Reuters.
“We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla stated after the retaliatory U.S. strikes on Iran-backed militia. “We are postured for scalable options in the face of any additional Iranian attacks.”
A drone struck a maintenance facility at a base in northeast Syria used jointly by the American military and local partner forces, killing one American contractor and wounding five U.S. servicemembers as well as another contractor, DOD saidin a statement. The U.S. intelligence community assessed the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) originated in Iran.
President Joe Biden authorized “proportionate” action in response to Thursday’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against the U.S. and coalition partners in the area, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in the statement.
Biden’s response was intended to minimize casualties and clamp down on potential for escalation, the statement said.
Iran-backed groups, including the IRCG, have conducted offensive actions against the U.S. 78 times since 2021, Kurilla said, according to Reuters.
“The Iran of today is exponentially more militarily capable than it was even five years ago … it has the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East … and the largest and most capable UAV force,” Kurilla told a congressional committee Thursday.
The roughly 900 U.S. forces have continued to strike at ISIS forces persisting in Syria, usually in concert with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
CENTCOM did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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