At least one person has died and six others have been injured after a kamikaze drone crashed into a maintenance facility at the US military base in Hasakain northeastern Syria.
According to Europa Press, the United States Department of Defense has reported the attack, which took place this Thursday at 1:38 p.m. local time, specifying that the dead is a contractor, while the injured are five US service members and another contractor.
The device hit a maintenance facility at a base of the international coalition fighting the jihadist group Islamic State.
Four of the wounded have been flown to Iraq for medical treatment. In addition, all the victims are American nationals, according to the statement.
The intelligence services of the United States consider that the attack is of Iranian origin, for which the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austinhas ordered the Army to carry out airstrikes against facilities linked to Tehran.
“Following instructions from the president, (Joe) Biden, I have authorized US Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria.”Austin explained.
The Secretary of Defense has explained that the retaliatory attacks are directed against facilities used by “affiliated groups” of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
“The airstrikes have been carried out in response to today’s attack, as well as a series of recent attacks on coalition forces in Syria by IRGC-affiliated groups,” he explained.
The head of the Pentagon has explained that these attacks “have the objective of protecting and defending American personnel”according to a statement.
“As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary steps to defend our people and we will always respond at the time and place that we choose,” he said. “No group will attack our troops with impunity,” he added.
AT LEAST EIGHT KILLED AFTER US ATTACK
Following Austin’s announcement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that airstrikes by US forces have killed eight suspected pro-Iranian fighterswhile the balance of fatalities may increase because there are several injured, some of them in critical condition.
The body, based in London and informants in the Arab country, has explained that Washington has directed its attacks against a weapons depot in Deir Ezzor, where six of the victims would have died; and another militia hideout on the outskirts of the city of Mayadin, where the other two were reportedly killed.
According to the observatory, the militias would have mobilized some of their forces to face possible new attacks, while on Friday morning they would have launched new projectiles against the military base of the international coalition.
The Pentagon did not provide further details about the bombings or say whether they caused casualties. He only defended that his actions were “proportionate and deliberate” to limit the risk of escalation.
The international coalition is present at various points in the administrative demarcation controlled by its allies the Democratic Syrian Forces (FSD), a Kurdish-led armed alliance with which it collaborates in the fight against the remnants of the Islamic State.
According to the EFE news agency, the Euphrates River roughly divides Deir Ezzor into two parts: one controlled by troops loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar al Assad, and their allies; and another in the hands of Kurdish forces, with the presence of Washington and his associates.
In government areas, they are deployed pro-Iranian militias supporting Damascus and that from time to time attack US or coalition targets in the province, sometimes resulting in crossfire between the parties.
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