US Strikes Iran-Backed Militias

The US military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last weekend.

"Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force.

Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.

US Central Command said the assault involved more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States.

The strikes killed at least 18 pro-Iran fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi issued a stern warning against any possible attack by the United States in retaliation for a strike that killed three American troops in Jordan.

"We have said many times that we will not be the initiator of any war, but if a country, a cruel force, wants to bully, the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond firmly," Raisi said during a visit to a Persian Gulf naval base operated by the Revolutionary Guards.

"Today, the enemy has no ability to do anything against us; because they know that our forces are powerful and capable," he added.

The death of the American soldiers in a drone strike at a base in Jordan on Sunday marked the first US military losses since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7.