US carries out air strikes in Syria killing 11 in response to drone attack on its base

News, US March 25, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States military carried out multiple air strikes in the Syrian province of Deir Az Zor against allegedly Iran-backed fighter groups, killing at least 11 people. The air strike was conducted on March 23, 2023.

The U.S. military air strike came on the same day as a U.S. base near Hasakah in northeast Syria was attacked by a drone. The attack resulted in the death of an American contractor while five U.S. military personnel were wounded.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense intelligence committee, the drones used in the attack on the base were of Iranian origin, a conclusion that aggravates already strained relations between Washington and Tehran.

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin released a statement saying that “at the direction of President Biden, I authorized U.S. Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)”.

Austin said that “the airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC.” The United States used F-15 fighter jets to attack the two facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s IRGC.

“As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” the U.S. defense secretary said in his statement adding that “No group will strike our troops with impunity”.

According to some reports, the U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the defense system of the U.S. base had failed and despite having radars on site, the troops on the ground did not have enough time to react to the drone strikes.

The Pentagon said in a statement that “Two of the wounded service members were treated on site, while three additional service members and the U.S. contractor were medically evacuated to Coalition medical facilities in Iraq”.

^{U.S. Joint Chiefs Chair Army General Mark Milley speaks with U.S. forces in Syria during an unannounced visit, at a U.S. military base in Northeast Syria, on March 4, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Phil Stewart)}

This is not the first time that the U.S. forces stationed in Syria have been targeted by a drone attack, however, in a rare event the current drone attack has resulted in a fatality in the U.S. military base, which led to a response from the U.S. military from an air strike.

Iran’s state-owned media outlet has denied the involvement of Iranian personnel in the drone attack while stating that saying no Iranian had been killed in the U.S. air strike either. Iranian media quoted the local sources to confirm on its behalf that the U.S. air strike hit a local rural development and grain center near a military airport.

Videos have been making circles on social media showing several explosions in Syria’s Deir Az Zor, a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains several oil fields. The area is controlled by Iran-backed fighter groups and Syrian military forces. The region has also had airstrikes by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes.

*^{The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team on the ground in Syria. (Image Credit: U.S. National Guard)}*

The drone attack and U.S.’s response to it have threatened the recent diplomatic efforts in the region to de-escalate the tensions between regional rivals. The complex geopolitical situation in Syria and its neighboring countries is expected to get even worse as a result of Washington’s response to the drone strike.

Earlier this month, China brokered a breakthrough agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia that allows the two countries to reopen their embassies in each other’s countries. The next step in diplomatic progress in the region could be Saudi Arabia’s acknowledgment of Bashar al-Assad’s Iran-backed regime in Syria. Moscow on the other hand is trying to broker a deal between Turkey and the Syrian regime in order to combine their efforts against Syrian rebel groups.