Eight militants affiliated with groups backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were killed in Syria in recent airstrikes by US air forces, Pentagon press secretary Patric Ryder said on Thursday.
A US contractor was killed and six others were injured when a drone targeted a base of the US-led international coalition near Hasaka city in northeast Syria on 23 March. The drone was of Iranian origin, according to the Pentagon. In retaliation, US forces launched airstrikes against groups linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“We now assess that eight militants were killed in our strikes against two IRGC Quds facilities near Deir ez-Zor by US Air Force F15E Fighters,” said Ryder during a press briefing, adding that the militants killed were not believed to be Iranian but were associated with the IRGC.
He said that the “precision strikes” were carried out to protect and defend US forces, and noted that six US troops suffered traumatic brain injuries during attacks last week by Iran-backed militants.
“All personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury. So these additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screenings,” he told the news briefing.
Source: Gerçek News
