— The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but is prepared to protect our people with force, he said during a visit to Canada.
One American died and six were injured in the attack on a base in al-Hasakah on Thursday, which the US says was carried out by an Iranian-made drone. The US responded with strikes against targets in eastern Syria used by groups linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
At least 14 people have been killed in the US airstrikes, according to the UK-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Among other things, the attacks were directed at a weapons depot in the city of Dayr al-Zor (Deir Ezzor). Those killed are said to have belonged to Iran-backed militia groups.
A few hours after the attacks, the American Central Command stated that ten rockets were fired at the so-called Green Village base in northeastern Syria, where, among other things, American soldiers are located, according to the AFP news agency. The news agency AP and CNN states for its part that it is a matter of two simultaneous attacks, with drones against Green Village and with rockets against a support facility at the Conoco gas and oil field, where an American was injured.
Hundreds of US troops are stationed in northeastern Syria, where they are part of an international coalition fighting what remains of the IS terror group.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is under Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Tehran has not commented on the incident.