On Friday morning, US launched a significant aerial attack in response to a suicide drone assault that resulted in the death of a US contractor and the injury of multiple service members at an American base located in northeastern Syria, Rojava. It seems that the US responded with additional retaliatory strikes on Friday, after a second assault by militias under Iranian control. It is uncertain whether these strikes involved missiles or were conducted through the air. The US Central Command released a statement stating that coalition forces were targeted by ten rockets at around 8:05 am local time on Friday. In the meantime, the targeted forces declared in an online statement on Friday evening that they have the capability to respond to any further US attacks on their positions, following reciprocal strikes in Syria during the past 24 hours.

After the first assault, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that US Central Command troops launched "precision airstrikes" against installations in eastern Syria used by factions associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The Defense Department disclosed that the intelligence community verified that the unmanned aerial vehicle used in the attack was manufactured in Iran. According to the Pentagon, two of the American service members injured in Thursday's assault received treatment at the location, while the contractor and three other service members were taken to medical facilities in Iraq. President Biden offered his condolences to the families of the affected individuals during a trip to Canada on Friday and stated that the US would not hesitate to respond to any Iranian aggression. He also stated that, “the US ‘does not seek conflict with Iran’ but would respond ‘forcefully’ to attacks on US forces in Syria”

According to Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesperson for CENTCOM, launching rockets without discrimination puts not only American troops and coalition forces in danger, but also endangers Syrian civilians and threatens the security and stability of the entire region, adding that  they will do everything necessary to protect their personnel and retaliate when and where needed. During his testimony before Congress, Kurilla stated that Iran's military capability has increased exponentially in recent years, with the region's largest drone and missile force. According to Kurilla, Iran uses Iranian proxies to launch attacks against American forces in Iraq or Syria, in an attempt to conceal their involvement

By: S.R