Ashish Ranjan
On Thursday (US time), the US military conducted multiple airstrikes in Syria against Iran-aligned factions. The attacks occurred hours after a fatal drone strike by the groups in which an American contractor was killed and five US troops and another contractor were injured.
The Pentagon disclosed both the attack on US personnel and the retaliation at the same time on Thursday night.Thursday at approximately 1:38 p.m. (1038 GMT), US personnel were attacked at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria, according to the statement.
The US intelligence community concluded that the unidirectional attack drone originated in Iran, according to the military, a conclusion that could exacerbate already tense relations between Washington and Tehran.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the retaliatory strikes were carried out at the instruction of President Joe Biden and targeted Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated facilities. (IRGC).
“The air strikes were conducted in response to today’s attack and a series of recent attacks by IRGC-affiliated groups against Coalition forces in Syria,” Austin said in a statement.He stated, “No group will be able to attack our troops with impunity.”
EXPLOSIONS IN SYRIA
Several social media recordings purported to show explosions in the strategic Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zor, which borders Iraq and contains oil fields.The territory is controlled by Iranian-backed militias and Syrian forces, and Israeli airstrikes in recent months allegedly targeted Iranian supply routes.
The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard of Iran, which only replies to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is suspected of launching attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the greater Middle East.In recent months, Russia has begun employing Iranian drones in its attacks on Ukrainian sites as part of its ongoing conflict with Kiev.
Iran has disputed responsibility for these attacks, despite the fact that Western nations and experts have traced drone components to Tehran.
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As Saudi Arabia and Iran have been working toward reopening embassies in each other’s countries, the attack and the US response threaten to derail recent efforts to deescalate tensions in the region. The kingdom also acknowledged efforts to reopen its embassy in Syria, whose beleaguered President Bashar Assad has been supported by Iran throughout Syria’s protracted civil conflict.
