US Retaliates in Syria, ChatGPT Expands, and the World's Largest Bats

US, Iran Trade Airstrikes 

US forces launched airstrikes in eastern Syria on sites used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (see background) after a suspected Iranian-made drone struck a US coalition base in the region, killing a US contractor and wounding six other Americans. The US' retaliation, which killed four people, drew another strike from the Iranian militia group on a second US base in the region Friday, though no casualties were reported. 

US forces have been in northeast Syria since 2015 as part of a fight against the Islamic State militant group (see overview). The US claims Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its affiliate groups support terrorist organizations. About 900 US troops and an unknown number of American military contractors are based in Syria, working with Iranian Kurdish separatists. See more on the conflict in Syria here.

The latest development isn't the first time the US and Iranian groups have traded airstrikes in Syria and neighboring Iraq, but observers say the pace of the strikes has escalated after Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike in January 2020. 

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