| 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican-led intervention andIranian involvement in theSyrian civil war | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States | Iranian-backed militias Iran Syria | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 US Army US Air Force | Liwa Al-Ghaliboun[1] Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps[2] Syrian Armed Forces[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed, 25 injured[3] | 8 killed (Pentagon claim)[4] 19 killed (SOHR claim)[5] | ||||||
On March 23, 2023, at 1:38 p.m. local time (UTC+03:00), akamikaze drone allegedly of Iranian origin struck a coalition base atAbu Hajar Airport nearRmelan,Al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria. As a response, The US military carried out a series of attacks usingF-15 Fighters at the direction of PresidentJoe Biden. On 24 March 2023, two retaliatory strikes at near oil and gas fields known as Conoco in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor by multiple rockets and at Green Village (US military base) by three drones targeted US and coalition forces.
On March 23, 2023, at 1:38 p.m. local time (UTC+03:00), akamikaze drone allegedly of Iranian origin struck a coalition base atAbu Hajar Airport nearRmelan,al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria,[6] killing one United Statescontractor and injuring five servicemen and second contractor.[7][8][9]The New York Times reported, US officials said the main air defense system at the base was "not fully operational" at the time of Thursday's Drone Strike.[9]
In retaliation, U.S. PresidentJoe Biden authorized a response with an airstrike onIRGC-linked targets,[10] including a weapons warehouse in the Harabish neighborhood inDeir ez-Zor, and military posts in theal-Mayadin andAbu Kamal countryside,[11] killing 14 people including nine Syrians, according toSOHR.[12][13][14]
On 24 March, 10 rockets were launched at the Green Village nearal-Omar oil field which injured another American serviceman.[9] By afternoon, another rocket attack targeted US forces near the oil and gas fields ofConoco, east of Deir ez-Zor.[15] On 30 March, thePentagon revealed that twelve American were wounded in total with six U.S. troops in Syria suffering traumatic brain injuries due to the two attacks by Iran-backed militias.[16]
A little-known militant group known as Liwa Al-Ghaliboun (The Brigade of Those who Prevail)[6] claimed responsibility for the initial drone attack, although some observers believe the group to simply be afront group for a larger Iranian-backed group or the IRGC.[1]
On 27 March, theWhite House said that the attacks would not trigger a U.S. withdrawal from its nearly eight-year-long deployment in Syria. on 23 March 2023,United States Central Command commanderMichael Kurilla said in his speech toHouse Committee on Armed Services that today Iran has grown its military power exponentially compared to five years ago and claimed Iranian-backed groups have struck 78 times on US troops in Syria since January 2021.[17] Meanwhile, theSyrian foreign ministry condemned the attacks and stated that Washington lied about where it had targeted and pledged to "end the American occupation" in Syria.Iran's foreign ministry accused the U.S. forces of targeting "civilian sites".[16]
As of 13 April, US personnel wounded in the clashes reached at least 25, including troops diagnosed withtraumatic brain injury.[3]
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