WASHINGTON, March 24. /TASS/. On Thursday, the US Air Force conducted a series of airstrikes on facilities in Syria, which, according to Washington, may be linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of elite troops within the Iranian armed forces, the US Department of Defense’s press service said.

According to the Pentagon’s statement, a US contractor was killed and five US service members and one additional US contractor were wounded after a one-way unmanned aerial vehicle struck" a maintenance facility on a US-led international coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria. According to the US military, the drone was of an Iranian origin.

"At the direction of [US] President [Joe] Biden, I authorized US Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)," the statement quoted Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as saying. "The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC."

"As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing," Austin added. "No group will strike our troops with impunity."

According to the Pentagon, "these precision strikes are intended to protect and defend US personnel." "The United States took proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties," the press service said.