U.S. President Biden had warned of imminent action after a drone attack at a U.S. base in Jordan killed three U.S. service members. (file photo)
Published February 3, 2024
U.S. officials said they believe air strikes on dozens of Iranian-linked sites in Syria and Iraq late on February 2 in retaliation for the killing of three U.S. troops were successful and warned more strikes will follow.
U.S. allies expressed support for the move as Iran, Iraq, and Syria expressed anger amid concerns of widening conflict in the region.
Officials from U.S. allies Britain and Poland issued statements in support of the U.S. actions, citing Washington’s right to respond to attacks and warning that Iran proxies were “playing with fire.”
Tehran said it “strongly” condemns the air strikes.
U.S. President Joe Biden had warned of imminent action after a drone attack at a U.S. military outpost in Jordan killed three U.S. service members on January 28.
Washington blamed Iran and its supply of weapons to militia groups in the region.
Reports said the U.S. strikes had hit seven locations, four in Syria and three in Iraq.
“Our response began today,” Biden said in a statement released shortly after the attacks, adding: “It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”
“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,” he added.
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SOURCE: www.rferl.org
RELATED: What we know about the US strikes in Iraq and Syria
Residents gather around destroyed buildings after US warplanes carried out an airstrike on the headquarters of Hashd al-Shaabi in Al-Qaim city of Anbar, Iraq on February 3. Hashd al-Shaabi Media Office/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images
Published February 3, 2024
The United States on Friday conducted major airstrikes on dozens of targets across Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a drone attack in Jordan last month that killed three US troops.
The strikes were larger in number and scale than previous ones launched since October, when Iran-backed armed groups began attacking US forces across the region in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
With the US warning of more strikes to follow, here’s what we know.
What triggered the strikes?
The US strikes were in response to a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on a US military outpost in Jordan on January 28, which killed three US service members and wounded more than 40 others.
The attack marked the worst loss of US military life in the region in nearly three years and the first US military fatalities since the war in Gaza erupted.
US President Joe Biden at the time vowed to hold “all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”
The attack in Jordan marked a significant escalation in tensions between the US and Iran-backed groups attacking American bases across the region in protest at Israel’s war in Gaza. Believed to be funded and trained by Iran, these groups view the US as responsible for Israel’s actions by supplying weapons to the Jewish state and failing to force a ceasefire.
Since October, when the Israel-Hamas war began, the US military has carried out several strikes targeting Iranian proxies’ weapons depots in Iraq and Syria, but none of those strikes deterred the militants, whose 165 attacks injured more than 120 US service members across the region.
None of the proxy groups’ other attacks since October, however, have resulted in the deaths of US service members – compelling Biden and his national security team to respond more forcefully.
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SOURCE: www.edition.cnn.com
RELATED: Biden Administration Says It Doesn’t Want War with Iran After Striking Iran-Linked Targets in Iraq and Syria
Published February 2, 2024
The Biden administration on Friday afternoon ordered strikes against facilities in Iraq and Syria associated with Iran-backed militants responsible for the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan earlier this week, but said it does not want war with Iran.
The strikes targeted 85 targets at three facilities in Iraq and four in Syria, including command and control headquarters, ammunition storage, and other facilities.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on a call with reporters that the targets were “carefully chosen facilities that we knew were involved in used by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and these militant groups in attacks against US personnel.”
He also made it clear that the strikes were not intended to spark a conflict with Iran, who backs the groups that have targeted U.S. troops in the region over 160 times since October before killing three and injuring dozens this week.
“We do not seek a conflict with Iran. These targets were chosen as we said to degrade and disrupt the capabilities of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the groups that they sponsor and support,” Kirby said.
“We believe that these targets fell into exactly that criteria. And the goal here is to get these attacks to stop. We are not looking for a war with Iran.”
“This wasn’t just a message-sending routine tonight. This was about degrading capability, taking away in a more robust way than we have in the past, taking away capabilities by the IRGC,” he added.
Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director for operations for the Joint Staff, could not say whether any militants were killed, but said, “We made these strikes tonight with an idea that there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.”
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SOURCE: www.breitbart.com
