The United States confirmed today, Friday, that it will protect its forces in Syria following airstrikes by the U.S. military against Iranian-backed forces in response to an attack that killed an American contractor and injured five American soldiers. Washington stated that the attack was carried out by an Iranian-origin drone, while sources reported a new rocket attack targeting a U.S. base in northeastern Syria, noting that there were no injuries among U.S. forces in the attack that occurred on Friday.
In an interview with CNN, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated, "We will work to protect our personnel and facilities to the best of our ability... It’s a dangerous environment." The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) indicated that the American airstrikes conducted by F-15 aircraft yesterday, Thursday, targeted facilities used by groups allied with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
General Eric Corella, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a statement, "We will always take whatever measures are necessary to defend our personnel, and we will always respond at the time and place of our choosing." It was noted that casualties among U.S. forces stationed in Syria are rare despite previous drone attacks targeting them. According to the U.S. military, its forces have been subjected to about 78 attacks from Iranian-backed groups since the beginning of 2021.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated that the U.S. strikes resulted in the deaths of eight Iranian-allied militants in Syria. Iranian state television Press TV reported that the attack did not result in the death of any Iranians, citing local sources who denied that the strikes targeted a military site of an Iranian-aligned group, claiming instead that a rural development center and a grain center near a military airport were targeted.
