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| US bombs Syria targets after deadly drone attack | US bombs Syria targets after deadly drone attack |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US has about 900 troops operating in southern and eastern Syria | The US has about 900 troops operating in southern and eastern Syria |
| The US has carried out air strikes against Iran-linked groups in eastern Syria after a drone attack killed a US contractor, the US defence chief said. | The US has carried out air strikes against Iran-linked groups in eastern Syria after a drone attack killed a US contractor, the US defence chief said. |
| Fourteen pro-Iran fighters were killed, according to a monitoring group. | Fourteen pro-Iran fighters were killed, according to a monitoring group. |
| US officials said the air strikes happened on Thursday night, hours after the drone attack which US intelligence said was "of Iranian origin". | US officials said the air strikes happened on Thursday night, hours after the drone attack which US intelligence said was "of Iranian origin". |
| US bases in north-east Syria have come under attack before, with the US responding with air strikes. | US bases in north-east Syria have come under attack before, with the US responding with air strikes. |
| Last August, the US bombed sites in eastern Syria which it said were linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) - its most powerful armed force - after rocket attacks on US troops there. | Last August, the US bombed sites in eastern Syria which it said were linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) - its most powerful armed force - after rocket attacks on US troops there. |
| Thursday night's air strikes were carried out on President Biden's orders "in response to... [the drone] attack as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC", US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said. | Thursday night's air strikes were carried out on President Biden's orders "in response to... [the drone] attack as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC", US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said. |
| He said they had targeted "facilities used by groups affiliated with... [the] IRGC". | He said they had targeted "facilities used by groups affiliated with... [the] IRGC". |
| Speaking to BBC Newshour, Joel Rayburn, US Special Envoy to Syria under President Trump, said Iranian-sponsored attacks on US troops in eastern Syria began in 2017. | Speaking to BBC Newshour, Joel Rayburn, US Special Envoy to Syria under President Trump, said Iranian-sponsored attacks on US troops in eastern Syria began in 2017. |
| "It's usually drone strikes or rockets or mortars, against our bases. Most of the time they don't do any damage and they don't cause casualties. | "It's usually drone strikes or rockets or mortars, against our bases. Most of the time they don't do any damage and they don't cause casualties. |
| "The defence secretary's point is that that's unacceptable and President Biden authorised a military response against the same kind of guys that carried that out on behalf of the Iranian regime." | "The defence secretary's point is that that's unacceptable and President Biden authorised a military response against the same kind of guys that carried that out on behalf of the Iranian regime." |
| The US defence department said the contractor had been killed, and five US service personnel and a second contractor wounded, when the drone struck a maintenance facility on a coalition base near Hasakah. | The US defence department said the contractor had been killed, and five US service personnel and a second contractor wounded, when the drone struck a maintenance facility on a coalition base near Hasakah. |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) - a UK-based monitoring group - said the US strikes killed six pro-Iran fighters in Deir al-Zour city, six in al-Bukamal, and two in the desert of al-Mayadeen. | |
| Iran has not commented. | Iran has not commented. |
| About 900 US troops are operating out of bases in southern and eastern Syria, without the permission of the Syrian government, as part of the US-led global coalition against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). | About 900 US troops are operating out of bases in southern and eastern Syria, without the permission of the Syrian government, as part of the US-led global coalition against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). |
| They are tasked with preventing a resurgence of IS, whose militants once controlled large swathes of Syria before being defeated in 2019 following separate campaigns waged by US-backed Kurdish and Arab militia fighters and Iran- and Russia-backed pro-government forces. | They are tasked with preventing a resurgence of IS, whose militants once controlled large swathes of Syria before being defeated in 2019 following separate campaigns waged by US-backed Kurdish and Arab militia fighters and Iran- and Russia-backed pro-government forces. |
| The IRGC has built a substantial presence in Syria since the civil war began in 2011, sending hundreds of troops to advise President Bashar al-Assad's forces and to train and arm thousands of militiamen. | The IRGC has built a substantial presence in Syria since the civil war began in 2011, sending hundreds of troops to advise President Bashar al-Assad's forces and to train and arm thousands of militiamen. |
| Elsewhere in Syria, SOHR reported that 15 truffle hunters had been killed by IS in the eastern desert. | |
| On Thursday, seven civilians and eight tribesmen working for the Al-Qaterji militia were reportedly killed in Hama, an area where many locals depend on finding truffles for their income. | |
| The fate of 40 other people remains unknown, the observatory said. | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Syrian civil war | Syrian civil war |
| Iran | Iran |
| Syria | Syria |