US conducts airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Syria after deadly drone attack

The US conducted airstrikes Thursday against Iran-backed groups in eastern Syria in response to a drone attack that killed a US contractor and injured five service members, said the Pentagon.

In a statement, the Pentagon said a "one-way unmanned aerial vehicle struck a maintenance facility on a Coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria" on Thursday afternoon, which also resulted in the injury of another US contractor.

According to the statement, "the intelligence community assess the UAV to be of Iranian origin.”