The US Central Command said that the attack included more than 125 precision-guided munitions, delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers launched from the United States. Weather was a factor as the US planned the strikes in order to allow the US to confirm it was hitting the right targets and avoiding civilian casualties, Sims said.
But it is not clear whether the militia members were killed or not.
“We know that there are militants using these sites, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as well as militia members allied with Iran,” Sims said. “We conducted these strikes tonight with the idea that there were likely victims connected to the people inside those facilities.”
Syrian official media reported casualties but did not give a number. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 militants were killed in the Syrian strikes.
Iraqi army spokesman Yahya Rasoul said in a statement that the city of Al-Qaim and areas along the country's border with Syria were subjected to American air strikes. He added that the strikes “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and constitute a threat that will drag Iraq and the region into undesirable consequences.”
Kirby said that the United States alerted the Iraqi government before carrying out the strikes.
President Joe Biden stands as an Army team moves the transport bag containing the remains of US Army Sergeant Breonna Alexandria Moffitt, one of three killed in the attack in Jordan. credit: AP
The attack came just hours after Biden and senior defense leaders joined grieving families to watch the remains of the three Army reservists be returned to the United States at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Only on Friday morning did hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi repeat previous promises to Tehran to potentially retaliate against any US strikes targeting its interests. “We will not start a war, but if a country, if a harsh force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond strongly,” Raisi said.
In a statement this week, the Hezbollah Brigades announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.” But this confirmation clearly had no impact on US strike plans. Harakat al-Nujaba, another major Iran-backed group, pledged on Friday to continue military operations against US forces.
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The United States blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iranian-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, but did not limit the matter to a specific group. However, Kataib Hezbollah is the prime suspect.
Some militias have posed a threat to US bases for years, but the groups have intensified their attacks in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas following the October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 more hostage. The war led to the death of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and ignited the Middle East.
Iranian-backed militias across the region have used the conflict to justify striking Israeli or American interests, including threatening civilian commercial ships and US warships in the Red Sea region with drones or missiles in almost daily exchanges.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.” He said that the United States would take all necessary measures to defend its interests and its people, and warned: “At this stage, it is time to confiscate greater capabilities than we have acquired in the past.”
As of Tuesday, Iranian-backed militias had launched 166 attacks on US military facilities since October 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria, and now one attack in Jordan, according to a US military official. The last attack was on January 29 on Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, and there were no casualties or damage.
Meanwhile, the United States has strengthened its defenses at Tower 22, the base in Jordan that was attacked by Iranian-backed militants on Sunday, according to a US official. While previous U.S. responses in Iraq and Syria were more limited, the killing of the three service members in Jordan went beyond the limits, the official said.
This satellite image shows a military base in Jordan where three American soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded.credit: AP
The attack, which also wounded more than 40 service members — most of them from the Army National Guard — was the first to kill American fighters at the hands of Iranian-backed militias since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas. Tower 22 houses about 350 American soldiers and is located near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only 10 kilometers away.
The Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile approaching the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicions that it was launched by the Houthis in Yemen. The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility.
A US official said the military launched additional self-defense strikes inside Yemen on Friday against Houthi military targets considered an imminent threat. Al-Masirah TV, a satellite news channel run by the Houthis, said that British and American forces carried out three strikes in Hajjah Governorate in northern Yemen, a Houthi stronghold.
The US Treasury Department announced that it has imposed new sanctions on a network of companies in Iran and Hong Kong accused of helping Iran obtain the technology needed to make ballistic weapons and drones. The United States imposed sanctions on six Iranian officials for allegedly committing a series of malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the United States and other countries.
AP, Reuters
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