US carries out airstrike on 'Iranian' facilities in Syria

ALBAWABA - The United States carried out an airstrike in Syria against suspected Iranian-linked facilities in the country, the Pentagon said.

The attack came after a suspected Iranian drone struck a facility Thursday that housed U.S. personnel, killing an American contractor and wounding five U.S. service members, the Pentagon and CNN reported.

The contractor was a U.S. citizen, a spokesperson for the U.S Central Command confirmed to CNN. The cable news network said another U.S. contractor was also wounded.

"An official familiar with the matter...(said) that the injured service members are all in stable condition," according to CNN.

A statement by the Pentagon, or Department of Defense, carried on its website said the "intelligence community assess the UAV (unnamed aerial vehicle) to be of Iranian origin."

"At the direction of President Biden, I authorized U.S. Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)," said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.

"The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC," it added.

The statement said the precision strikes were "intended to protect and defend U.S. personnel."

"The United States took proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties," it pointed out.

"As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing," said Secretary Austin.

"No group will strike our troops with impunity," he added.