Washington (EFE)
According to the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, “the bombings were carried out in response to the attack in the last few hours, as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces carried out by groups affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”
The Pentagon did not provide further details about the bombings or say whether they caused casualties. He only defended that his actions were “proportionate and deliberate” to limit the risk of escalation.
The drone attack on Thursday also injured five US soldiers and another contractor.
The device hit a maintenance facility at a base of the international coalition fighting the jihadist group Islamic State, in northeastern Syria, at about 1:30 p.m. local time.
“As President (of the US, Joe) Biden has already made clear, we will take all necessary steps to defend our people. (…) No group will attack our troops with impunity”, assured Austin.
Coalition positions in Syria
The international coalition is present in several points of the administrative demarcation controlled by its allies Democratic Syrian Forces (FSD), an armed alliance led by Kurds with which it collaborates in the fight against the remnants of the Islamic State.
The Euphrates River roughly divides Deir al Zur into two parts: one controlled by troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies; and another in the hands of Kurdish forces, with the presence of Washington and his associates.
Pro-Iranian militias supporting Damascus are deployed in government areas and occasionally attack US or coalition targets in the province, sometimes resulting in crossfire between the parties.