“There has been no change in the US footprint in Syria as a result of what happened over the last few days,” Kirby said during a press briefing. “We're not going to be deterred from continuing to go after this network in Syria by these militant groups.”
The United States will continue its mission to defeat Daesh*, Kirby added.
On Thursday, a drone of presumably Iranian origin attacked a maintenance facility at the base in Syria's Al-Hasakah province, killing a US contractor and injuring six others, according to the US Department of Defense.
On Friday, in response to the drone attack, the US military carried out airstrikes on facilities belonging to groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
The US military controls parts of the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Raqqa, Aleppo, and Deir ez-Zor, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located. The Syrian government has repeatedly called the US military presence in the provinces an occupation aimed at stealing Syria's oil.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries