U.S. Begins Striking Iran-Backed Militants in Iraq, Syria after Killing of Three American Soldiers

The U.S. struck more than 85 targets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force and affiliated Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, according to the U.S. military, after a deadly drone attack killed three American soldiers in Jordan last weekend.

“U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.”

The U.S.-led airstrikes began at 4 p.m. ET Friday, according to the statement.

The strikes started shortly after the conclusion of a dignified transfer ceremony that honored the three fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, ABC News reported. President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, among other administration officials, attended the ceremony.

On Wednesday, the U.S. attributed responsibility for the Sunday drone attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias. Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, died while based in Jordan. Roughly 40 other American service members were wounded.

Iran has denied responsibility for the Jordan attack, which is the first resulting in the deaths of American soldiers since Iranian proxy groups started launching assaults on U.S. forces amid the geopolitical turmoil between Israel and Hamas.

The retaliatory airstrikes conducted in Iraq and Syria come after Biden had been warning for days that the U.S. would forcefully respond to the attack. This latest wave of U.S. military action could further escalate tensions in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

On Monday, however, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the White House does not intend to escalate the conflict.

“We are not looking for war with Iran,” Kirby said during an appearance on NBC’s Today.

“Obviously, these attacks keep coming. We’ll keep looking at the options,” Kirby added. “I can’t speak for the Supreme Leader or what he wants or he doesn’t want. I can tell you what we want. What we want is a stable, secure, prosperous Middle East, and we want these attacks to stop.”

In separate statements on Friday, both Biden and Austin reiterated that the U.S. is not seeking a broader conflict in the Middle East with the strikes but noted that attacks on American troops won’t be ignored.

“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” Biden said. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”

U.S. military forces struck seven facilities in Iraq and Syria that “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias use to attack U.S. forces,” according to Austin.

“We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces,” Austin said. “We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests.”