The U.S. military struck back Friday night against Iran and its proxies in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a drone strike last weekend that killed three U.S. Army soldiers in Jordan, the Pentagon announced.
The attacks began at 4 p.m. ET, two hours after the conclusion of a dignified transfer ceremony honoring the three soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and occurred quickly. The US forces that carried out the operation had returned to safety within 40 minutes of their departure.
“Numerous aircraft, including B-1 bombers dispatched from the United States, participated in this operation, firing more than 125 precision-guided munitions over the course of about 30 minutes,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. .
The operation targeted the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Tehran-backed militias including Kataib Hezbollah, which carried out Sunday’s fatal attack.
The United States also attacked a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that specializes in military intelligence and unconventional warfare, the first time the United States has taken direct military action against Tehran’s official forces since the Iran’s subsidiaries began attacking US troops in November.
In total, U.S. forces struck more than 85 targets at seven facilities in Iraq and Syria, including command and control centers, headquarters buildings, intelligence centers, missile storage facilities, missiles and drones, and logistics facilities, munitions and supply chain.
“These targets were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and were based on clear and irrefutable evidence that they were related to attacks against U.S. personnel in the region,” said Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Joe Biden attends the dignified transfer of the remains of Army Reserve Sergeants William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, three American soldiers who died in Jordan during a drone attack. REUTERS
Military officials are still assessing the resulting damage and the number of terrorists killed, but Sims said he believes the attacks were “successful.”
“I feel that we confidently attack targets that will affect their ability to conduct future attacks against Americans.”
Friday’s attacks will not be the last military action the United States will take in retaliation for the fatal attack on American soldiers, Kirby promised.
“As President Biden has made clear, we will not hesitate to defend our people and hold accountable all those who harm Americans at a time and place of our choosing. That started tonight. “That won’t end tonight.”
The US strikes were preceded by a series of separate explosions in Syria carried out by a third party, causing brief confusion after some media outlets initially reported that they were part of the highly anticipated US campaign.
It is still unclear who was behind those first explosions.
Footage broadcast by AlHadath TV showed attacks hitting a weapons depot in Al-Qaim, Iraq. AlHadath TV The attacks began at 4 pm ET, two hours after the conclusion of a dignified transfer ceremony honoring the three soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. AlHadath TV The US military counterattacked on Friday night against Iran and its proxies in Syria and Iraq.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the matter.
In a statement, President Biden said: “Our response began today. It will continue at the times and places we choose.” The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who may try to harm us know this: if you harm an American, we will respond.”
The United States had pledged to hold the Islamic Resistance in Iraq responsible for the attack that killed Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, soldier. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, and injured approximately 40 other U.S. service members.
Tower 22, near the border with Jordan. Planet Labs/AFP via Getty Images A map of the Middle East.
As nearly a week passed before the response, critics of the Biden administration warned that the delay had given Iranian military officers and members of Tehran-backed militia groups enough time to hide.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement Friday that the attacks were “welcome, but they came too late for the three brave Americans who died and the nearly 50 injured.” .”
“Instead of giving the ayatollah the blood on the nose he deserves, we continue to slap him on the wrist,” Wicker added. “The Biden administration spent nearly a week foolishly telegraphing US intentions to our adversaries, giving them time to relocate and hide. “It is time for our commander in chief to take a new approach that targets the real sponsors of terrorism in the region.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Biden had authorized a “phased” response starting this weekend, with strikes over several days against Iranian personnel and facilities in Syria and Iraq, as well as non-military measures to prevent an escalation of the conflict. . .
“I don’t think we need a broader war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden told reporters Tuesday outside the White House, adding that he considered Iran “responsible in the sense that they are supplying weapons to the people who did it.”
US Army Reserve Sgt. William Jerome Ríos, SPC. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett and Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders. Via REUTERS
Tensions have risen between U.S. and Iranian proxy forces in the Middle East since Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, which The Journal had previously reported was planned and approved by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (IRGC) Tehran.
Since October, Iranian militias have launched attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan more than 150 times, Pentagon officials say, and Houthi rebels in Yemen have also fired rockets at commercial and military ships in the Red Sea.
Joe Biden stands as an Army transport team moves the transfer case containing the remains of US Army soldiers. AP A fighter jet takes off from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during flight operations in the Red Sea, Jan. 22, 2024. AP
The last direct attack against an Iranian military officer occurred on January 3, 2020, when former President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike in Iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani, the top general of Iran’s IRGC paramilitary Quds Force.
Tehran later launched missile attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, wounding dozens but not killing any service members.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn