The United States has launched airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Syria and Iraq in response to a drone attack on a US base in Jordan last week that killed three US soldiers, the BBC reports.
“US military forces struck more than 85 targets with the help of several aircraft, including long-range bombers launched by the United States. More than 125 precision munitions were used in the airstrikes,” according to a statement from the US military command in the region.
US President Joseph Biden, in a statement published on the White House website, confirmed that the strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria associated with the IRGC were carried out at his direction.
“Our response began today. It will continue anytime and anywhere. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let those who seek to harm us know: if you harm any American, we will respond,” the head of the White House said.
The targets were training bases, ammunition depots in Iraq and Syria used by pro-Iranian militias operating in the region.
Three US soldiers were killed and 40 others were wounded in a drone attack on US troops stationed in northeastern Jordan near the border with Syria, US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday. According to US intelligence, the drone used in the attack was manufactured in Iran.
The Houthis targeted Eilat, Yemen with ballistic missiles
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said their organization carried out a military operation toward the Israeli city of Eilat with ballistic missiles, a military spokesman for the organization announced today.
The Israeli military announced earlier that its “Arrow” air defense system successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired into Israeli territory today in the Red Sea region.
As it became known, 8-12 targets were hit in eastern Syria and Iraq. These are groups actively supported by Iran.
The US response, which President Biden had given the go-ahead, could include strikes and cyber operations and would last for weeks, NBC News reported Wednesday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, for their part, have said in the past that they will respond to any US threat.
In a separate development, six pro-Iranian fighters were killed on Friday in strikes “probably” carried out by the United States in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The director of that NGO, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP that the strikes “were probably carried out by the US.”
Sky News points out that the strikes could continue for several nights and that Israel may be involved. The US had also made it clear that “what we will see in the coming days is an escalating response”