US military carries out multiple air strikes in Syria

The U.S. military carried out multiple air strikes in Syria on Thursday night against Iran-aligned groups that it blamed for a drone attack that killed an American contractor and injured five American troops. Both the attack on U.S. personnel and the retaliation were disclosed by the Pentagon late on Thursday. The military said the U.S. intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin.

Although, U.S. forces stationed in Syria have been targeted by



drones before fatalities are extremely rare.

U.S. Defence 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.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war in Syria, said the U.S. strikes had left eight pro-Iranian fighters dead in Syria.