Conflict in Syria escalates following attack that killed a US contractor

WASHINGTON — The conflict in northeast Syria escalated Friday as Iran-backed militias launched a volley of rocket and drone attacks against coalition bases after American reprisals for a drone attack that killed a U.S. contractor and injured six other Americans.

President Joe Biden, speaking at a news conference in Canada, sought to tamp down fears that tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and militant groups could spiral out of control, while at the same time warning Iran to rein in its proxies.

“Make no mistake, the United States does not, does not, I emphasize, seek conflict with Iran,” Biden said in Ottawa, Ontario, where he was making a state visit. “But be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.”

The fighting, among the most serious in the area since 2019, threatens to upend recent efforts to de-escalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, have made steps toward rapprochement in recent days after years of turmoil.

The initial attack Thursday came as U.S. forces in northeast Syria were on high alert following 78 attacks by Iran-backed militias since January 2021. But a self-destructing drone, which U.S. officials said was of “Iranian origin,” managed to hit a coalition base anyway, killing the U.S. contractor and wounding six other Americans.

Two U.S. officials said the main air defense system at the base was “not fully operational” at the time, raising questions about whether the attackers had detected that vulnerability and exploited it, or just happened to send the drone at that time, according to people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, said the air defense’s radar was working but he declined to discuss any other details of the system, citing operational security and an investigation by the military’s Central Command.

It was unclear why the system was not fully functional and what difference that had made in defending the base. The Avenger missile defense system at the base, called RLZ, may have been experiencing a maintenance problem, one of the U.S. officials said.

After U.S. intelligence analysts concluded that the drone was of Iranian origin — a claim the Pentagon made without any supporting evidence — the United States retaliated by launching airstrikes against militant sites linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Ryder said.