US air strikes in Syria after an Iranian drone kills an American contractor

Multiple US airstrikes were carried out Thursday night in Syria shortly after an American contractor was killed and five US servicemen were injured by an Iranian drone attack on a facility in a coalition base in northeast Syria. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US Central Command forces retaliated with “precision airstrikes” against facilities in eastern Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Defense Department said the intelligence community had determined the unmanned aerial vehicle was of Iranian origin. He added that the retaliatory strikes were conducted at the direction of President Biden.

Media videos showed explosions in Deir Ez-Zor an eastern Syrian province controlled by Iran-backed militias and Syrian troops.