| The U.S. launched strikes on targets in Syria on Thursday in retaliation for a series of drone attacks on American military bases in the region, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. During one week this month, coalition forces were attacked at least 10 separate times in Iraq and three times in Syria by a mix of drones and rockets, according to the Pentagon. Austin called the attacks “separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas” and said they don’t represent a shift in the U.S. approach to the conflict. | 