US strikes Iran-backed facilities in Syria after drone kills American

The US military carried out multiple airstrikes in Syria on Thursday night against Iran-aligned groups who it blamed for a deadly drone attack that killed an American contractor, injured another and wounded five troops earlier in the day, the Pentagon said.

Both the attack on personnel and the retaliation were disclosed by the Pentagon at the same time late on Thursday.

The attack against personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. (1038 GMT) on Thursday, it said.

The intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Biden orders strikes on IRGC-affiliated targets

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the retaliatory strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden and targeted facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). READ MORE