The US military has carried out several airstrikes in eastern Syria. At least 11 people were killed. Several people were injured. According to Al Jazeera’s report, the Pentagon said the attack was against Iran-backed groups.

A US military contractor was killed and another wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed groups, the Pentagon said in a statement. Because of this, air strikes were launched.

A UK-based war monitoring organization says 11 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the US operation. The strike was carried out at 1:38 p.m. local time in retaliation for a drone strike on a US-led coalition base near Hasakeh in northeastern Syria. US intelligence believes that the attacking drone was Iranian.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, “In the eastern part of Syria, attacks have been carried out targeting groups related to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The airstrikes were carried out in response to recent strikes by IRGC-affiliated groups against coalition forces in Syria.

Austin also said that under the direction of President Joe Biden, multiple airstrikes have been conducted targeting facilities used by groups associated with the IRGC.

The U.S. military said the contractor and three soldiers injured in the drone strike were flown to Iraq for treatment. The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq has medical installations. Two other wounded US soldiers are being treated at a base in northern Syria, the Pentagon said.