TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States carried out airstrikes in eastern Syria, targeting government facilities in Deir Ez-Zur province.
It came following an alleged attack on a US contractor at an illegal coalition base in the country’s north-east.
According to the Pentagon, the alleged drone attack left one contractor dead and five US service members wounded. In a statement, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the Central Command forces had responded with “precision airstrikes” against the facilities.
Pentagon added three of the wounded service members and the injured contractor were transported to medical facilities in Iraq.
Overnight, videos on social media purported to show explosions in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zur, a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains oilfields.
The US military has for long stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorists.
Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country’s natural resources. Former US president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
Syria’s government has on multiple occasions condemned the looting of Syrian crude oil by US forces.
