US military downs Iranian-made drone in Syria

BEIRUT — U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

The incident comes more than a week after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, followed by a significant de-escalation of violence across the war-torn country.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the reconnaissance drone flew over Mission Support Site Conoco on Tuesday afternoon before American forces shot it down.

No group claimed responsibility for flying the drone in northeastern Syria, where it is not uncommon for bases housing U.S. troops to come under rocket fire or mortar attacks. Iran-backed militia are based nearby, as are sleeper cells of the Islamic State group that was defeated in Syria in March 2019.

There are roughly 900 U.S. troops in Syria, including in the north and farther south and east, who work alongside Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces targeting IS militants and their sleeper cells.