U.S. will 'forcefully' protect personnel in Syria: Biden

The Pentagon said a drone attack on a U.S. base in Syria Thursday killed a contractor and injured five U.S. troops and another contractor

President Joe Biden said on March 24 that the U.S. would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard following a suspected Iranian-linked attack Thursday that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded seven other Americans in northeast Syria.

“The United States does not, does not seek conflict with Iran,” Mr. Biden said in Ottawa, Canada, where he is on a state visit. But he said Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the U.S. “to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.” Activists said the U.S. bombing killed at least four people.

While it’s not the first time the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes in Syria, the attacks and the U.S. response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward détente in recent days after years of turmoil.

The Pentagon said a drone attack on a U.S. base Thursday killed a contractor and injured five U.S. troops and another contractor. That was followed by two simultaneous attacks on U.S. forces in Syria Friday, according to U.S. officials.

The officials said that based on preliminary information, there was a rocket attack Friday at a Conoco plant, and one U.S. service member was injured but is in stable condition. At about the same time, several drones were launched at Green Village, where U.S. troops are also based. One official said all but one of the drones were shot down, and there were no U.S. injuries there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

Two Syrian opposition activist groups reported a new wave of airstrikes on eastern Syria that hit positions of Iran-backed militias after rockets were fired at a Conoco gas plant that has a base housing American troops. Several U.S. officials, however, said the U.S. did not launch any attacks late Friday, and it wasn't clear if the activists were referring to the attack on U.S. forces at Green Village.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the American intelligence community had determined the drone in Thursday's attack on was of Iranian origin. U.S. officials said that conclusion was based on recovered debris and intelligence threat streams. They offered no immediate evidence to support the claim. The drone hit a maintenance facility at a coalition base in the northeast Syrian city of Hasaka.