The United States carried out retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets, in an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East following an attack that killed three American soldiers, according to US media.
The United States launched a wave of air strikes targeting militants in Iraq and Syria, officials told The Associated Press, Reuters and NBC News.
The United States launches air strikes with drones and manned aircraft in Syria and Iraq
The Associated Press reported that the initial strikes were carried out by manned and unmanned aircraft, hitting the command and control headquarters, ammunition depots and other facilities.
The strikes launched by the US military in Syria, as reported by the ABC and Fox News television networks, occurred shortly after the official reception on American soil, under President Joe Biden, for the bodies of the three soldiers, who were killed on Sunday. Near the Syrian border.
The raids come in response to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded about 40 others on Sunday.
The United States blamed the attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Iranian-backed militias. Joe Biden and White House officials had already warned that there would be retaliation.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is militarily responsible for the Middle East region, confirmed that the US forces “Air strikes were carried out in Iraq and Syria against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and allied paramilitary groups.».
“theThe US military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers, launched from the United States. The air strikes used more than 125 precision-guided munitions».
“theAffected facilities included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, and missile, missile, and drone depots, as well as supply chain and ammunition supply facilities for militia groups and their IRGC sponsors that facilitated attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.».
Sky News writes that Iranian-backed militias across the region have used the conflict between Israel and Hamas to justify attacks against US facilities at least 166 times.
An official in the Popular Mobilization Forces, an alliance of paramilitary factions close to Iran that are now officially part of the armed forces, confirmed this strike and spoke of a second strike in the Al-Aqsa region. , the far south.
Biden: We will respond to those who want to harm us
US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he had ordered military strikes on facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to groups that attacked US forces, and said the “response” would continue.
“Our response began today. It will continue in times and places of our choosing,” Biden said in a statement. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all who seek to harm us know: If you harm an American, we will respond.” “.
Joe Biden wrote on X (formerly Twitter)
“Today, at my direction, US military forces struck targets in Iraq and Syria that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and associated militias are using to attack US forces.
We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.
But to anyone who seeks to harm us: we will respond.”
Syria: Six pro-Iranian fighters were killed in “possible” US strikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier that six pro-Iranian fighters were killed on Friday in strikes “most likely” carried out by the United States in eastern Syria.
The director of this non-governmental organization, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Agence France-Presse that the strikes were “most likely carried out by the United States.”
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