CENTCOM says Iranian drone shot down in northeast Syria
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said they had shot down an Iranian drone that was surveying a patrol base of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in northeast Syria.
“On February 14th, at approximately 2:30 PM local time, US forces in Syria engaged and shot down an Iranian-manufactured UAV attempting to conduct reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco,” read a statement from CENTCOM.
Hundreds of US troops stationed in eastern Syria have fought alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS.
Tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran playing out in Iraq and Syria have simmered down over the past year. In August, US forces launched airstrikes targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor in an attack it said was in retaliation to an attack on a US base.
Iran responded to the attack by calling on the US to leave Syria “immediately,” while deeming the offensive a “violation of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity” of the war-torn country.
In November, at least 15 pro-Iran fighters were killed in Deir ez-Zor on a strike targeting their convoy along the Iraqi-Syrian border, but the US denied any involvement in the strike.
“On February 14th, at approximately 2:30 PM local time, US forces in Syria engaged and shot down an Iranian-manufactured UAV attempting to conduct reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco,” read a statement from CENTCOM.
Hundreds of US troops stationed in eastern Syria have fought alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS.
Tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran playing out in Iraq and Syria have simmered down over the past year. In August, US forces launched airstrikes targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor in an attack it said was in retaliation to an attack on a US base.
Iran responded to the attack by calling on the US to leave Syria “immediately,” while deeming the offensive a “violation of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity” of the war-torn country.
In November, at least 15 pro-Iran fighters were killed in Deir ez-Zor on a strike targeting their convoy along the Iraqi-Syrian border, but the US denied any involvement in the strike.