US launches retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed targets in Iraq and Syria

Strikes on more than 85 targets linked to IRGC follow attack in Jordan that killed three US soldiers

US forces began hitting Iran-backed targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday in what will be a wave of strikes in retaliation for the deaths of three American troops who were killed in Jordan in a drone attack, President Joe Biden said.

Central Command said the strikes hit more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the militia groups it supports. Three of the strikes were in Syria and three in Iraq.

“This afternoon, at my direction, US military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack US forces,” Mr Biden said in a statement, adding that this was only the first in a series of strikes.

“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”

The Jordan attack, which occurred on Sunday, was the latest in a series of strikes on US personnel carried out by Iran-backed militant groups in the Middle East following the start of the Israel-Gaza war. The Pentagon says Iran-backed militias have attacked US forces more than 160 times.

It was the first to hit a target in Jordan and the first to result in US fatalities. The drone exploded in the barracks of the US base while troops were still asleep, wounding more than 40, the Pentagon said.

Mr Biden, who is being goaded by hawkish Republicans to strike Iran itself, said the US does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else.

“But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: if you harm an American, we will respond,” he said.

Centcom said the targets so far included “command and control operations centres, intelligence centres, rockets and missiles”, among others that made up a logistics and munitions supply chain for militia groups and “their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces”.

Lt Gen Douglas Sims told reporters the strikes “hit exactly what we meant to hit, with a number of secondary explosions associated with the ammunition and logistics locations”.

He said the timing of the strikes was chosen according to the weather. More than 125 precision munitions were used, some deployed from B-1 bombers that had flown from the US.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported that at least 18 pro-Iran fighters were killed in the strikes.

US officials said targets were chosen to avoid civilian casualties. Lt Gen Sims said militiamen were probably killed.

“We know that there are militants that use these locations, IRGC, as well as Iranian-allied militia group personnel who use these locations. We made these strikes tonight with an idea that there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities,” he said.

The Biden administration had been signalling for days that it would hit Iran-backed targets even though Kataib Hezbollah, part of the Iran-backed umbrella group blamed on the Jordan attack, said they would stand down and stop attacking US troops.

None of the strikes occurred in Iran itself, US officials stressed.

“The goal here is to get these attacks to stop. We’re not looking for a war with Iran,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

He added that the US had informed Iraq about the strikes ahead of time.