The MQ-9 Predator drone, widely known for its intelligence collection and precision strikes against terrorist targets across the Middle East and Afghanistan, has been carrying out the majority of airstrikes in Syria over the last several months.
The drone strikes have continued as the region has been roiled by factional violence in recent months and amid heightened attacks and tensions caused by the Israel-Hamas war. U.S. Air Forces Central Command, or AFCENT, told Military.com the Predator drone “conducts the vast majority of air-to-ground counter-violent extremist organization airstrikes in the region.”
The heavy use of MQ-9 drones — widely referred to as Reaper drones when armed with weapons — signals that American forces in the region are still focused on counterterrorism operations in Syria amid a surge in violence across the Middle East. There have been 38 drone and rocket attacks on bases housing U.S. troops since mid-October, with a spike of eight attacks just over the weekend.
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