ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Pentagon press secretary said on Friday that Washington does not seek war with Iran but is focused on the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) following a deadly drone attack on US forces in Syria that has been blamed on Iran-backed groups.
A US contractor was killed and six others were injured when a drone strike targeted a Coalition base near northeast Syria's Hasaka city on Thursday, Washington said. The drone was of Iranian origin, according to the Pentagon.
In retaliation, American forces launched airstrikes against groups affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) based in eastern Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the death of eight pro-Iran fighters in the retaliatory attack.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said they are prepared for additional attacks by Iran, but Washington is not looking for war.
"We don't see conflict or war with Iran. Our focus in Syria is on the enduring defeat of ISIS. Unfortunately, what you see in this situation are these Iranian-backed groups, not only in Syria, but conducting operations in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf and Iraq, conducting destabilising operations that are meant to export terror and instability," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told Rudaw's Diyar Kurda during a presser on Friday.
The US and its coalition partners are "focused on trying to ensure stability, security in these regions, and that will continue to be their focus," he added. However, he warned that "If our people are threatened, we will continue to respond appropriately and proportionately."
Hundreds of US troops stationed in Syria are part of an international coalition that has fought alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS.
Attacks on US forces in Syria are often attributed to Iran-backed militias and factions, but have never been claimed. Ten pro-Iran fighters were killed in two days of strikes on the Syria-Iraq border in late January, but it was not immediately clear who carried out the attacks.
CENTCOM told Rudaw via email on Friday that two service members, who were injured in the attacks are back on duty, two others are receiving treatment in Erbil, while the other two injured are hospitalised in Baghdad.
