WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. military has launched airstrikes against dozens of bases in Iraq and Syria. Iranian-backed militia and Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired the first salvo of retaliation against Iran on Friday. Three US soldiers killed in drone attack Last weekend in Jordan.
The massive attack targeted 85 people in seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rocket and missile, drone and ammunition storage areas, and other facilities linked to paramilitary groups and the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force. attacked more than one target. A unit that deals with the relationship and armament of Tehran and regional militias. And President Joe Biden made it clear in his statement that there will be more to come.
The U.S. attack appears to have stopped short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force within its borders. US seeks to prevent conflict from escalating even more. Iran denied that it was behind the attack on Jordan.
It is unclear what impact the strike will have. US Days of Warning It is possible that the militia members were scattered and forced into hiding. With multiple groups operating in different parts of several countries, it is unlikely to be a catastrophic blow.
Kataib Hezbollah, one of the main Iranian-backed militias, has announced a moratorium on attacks on U.S. forces, but other militias are also stepping up to champion the Palestinian cause as the Gaza war shows no signs of ending. I vow to keep fighting.
“Our response began today, and it will continue at a time and place of our choosing,” Biden warned, adding, “We are calling out this response to all who may seek to harm us. “I want you to know that if you harm Americans, we will take action.” He and other top U.S. leaders have reiterated for days that any U.S. response would not be one-off and would be a “phased response” over time.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the targets were “carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear and irrefutable evidence that they were linked to attacks on U.S. military personnel in the region.” ” he said. He declined to provide details about what that evidence was.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the airstrike lasted about 30 minutes and hit three locations in Iraq and four in Syria.
U.S. Central Command said more than 125 precision munitions were used in the attack, which were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers from the United States. Sims said weather was a factor as the U.S. planned the attack to ensure it hit the right targets and avoided civilian casualties.
However, it is not clear whether any militia members were killed.
“We know there are extremists, Revolutionary Guards, and Iranian-aligned militia personnel using these locations,” Sims said. “We went on strike tonight because we believed there could be casualties related to people inside the facility.”
Syrian state media reported casualties, but did not give a figure. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 militants were killed in the Syrian attack.
Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement that the city of al-Qaim and areas along the Syrian border were damaged by US airstrikes. He said the attack “is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, threatens to undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government and lead to undesirable outcomes for Iraq and the region.”
Kirby said the United States warned the Iraqi government before carrying out the attack.
The attack happened a few hours later Biden and top defense leaders stand by grieving families He was there to watch as the remains of three Army reservists were returned to the United States at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Just Friday morning, Iran's hardline President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated Tehran's previous promise that any U.S. attack targeting Iranian interests could be retaliated against. “We do not intend to start a war, but if any country or cruel force tries to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond strongly,” Raisi said.
In this week's statement, Kataib Hezbollah “To avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government, we will suspend military and security operations against the occupying forces,” the statement said. However, it is clear that the claim had no impact on the US attack plan. Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iranian-backed groups, vowed on Friday to continue military operations against U.S. forces.
The United States has blamed Iraq's Islamic Resistance Movement, a broad Iranian-backed militia, for the attack in Jordan, but has not narrowed it down to any particular group. However, Kataib Hezbollah is the prime suspect.
Some militia groups have long been a threat to U.S. military bases, and these groups have stepped up attacks in the wake of the incident. battle between israel and hamas This comes after an October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. The war left more than 27,000 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip and escalated tensions in the Middle East.
Iranian-backed militias across the region use conflicts to justify attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests, including threatening civilian commercial vessels and U.S. warships in the Red Sea region with drones and missiles in near-daily exchanges. I have been using it.
“This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday. He said the United States would take all necessary actions to protect its interests and its people, warning that “now is the time to take away even more capabilities than we have in the past.”
As of Tuesday, Iranian-backed militias had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military facilities since Oct. 18, including 67 attacks in Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. military officials. 98 cases, and this time one in Jordan. The last attack was on January 29th at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, but there were no injuries or damage.
Meanwhile, the United States is strengthening its defense. tower 22A base in Jordan was attacked by Iranian-backed militants on Sunday, according to U.S. officials. Previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, but the deaths of three service members in Jordan crossed a line, officials said.
The attack also injured more than 40 military personnel, mostly from the Army National Guard, and was the first U.S. combat fatality at the hands of Iranian-backed militias since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. About 350 U.S. soldiers are stationed at Tower 22, which is located near the demilitarized zone on the Jordan-Syria border. The Iraqi border is just 6 miles (10 km) away.
Also on Friday, the Israeli military announced that its Arrow defense system had intercepted a missile that approached Israel from the Red Sea, raising suspicions that it was launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.
U.S. officials also said the military conducted additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen on Friday against Houthi military targets considered an imminent threat. Al-Masirah, a satellite news channel run by the Houthis, reported that British and American forces carried out three airstrikes in Yemen's northern Hajjah province, a stronghold of the Houthis.
—-
Amer Mahdani and Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington, DC. Abdulrahman Zeyad and Qassim Abdul Zahra reported from Baghdad, John Gambrell reported from Jerusalem and Ahmed Alhaji contributed from Yemen.
