US Strikes in Syria and Iraq: Everything We Know

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The United States has begun a series of airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the recent killing of three U.S. service members by an Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon confirmed to Newsweek late Friday afternoon.

Three soldiers were killed and dozens more were injured during Sunday's drone strike on the Tower 22 base in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border. The attack was purportedly launched from within Syria by a group with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

President Joe Biden, who has been under increasing pressure to respond by launching direct attacks on Iran, indicated that he had decided on his response earlier this week, without revealing any targets.

Biden administration officials have indicated that the response would consist of more than one attack. Bases, weapon stores and training depots that are used by Tehran-backed militants and funded by the IRGC are believed to be spread across Syria and Iraq.

Biden said in a statement on Friday that the military hit "targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces" and additional attacks would take place "at times and places of our choosing."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin specified that in a statement that "seven facilities" consisting of 85 targets were hit, calling the strikes "necessary actions to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests."

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.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least 10 pro-Iran militia members were killed or wounded in the initial round of strikes on Syria, including at least three militants who were not Syrian. The group said that no fewer than 17 sites were targeted in eastern Syria.

The Pentagon referred Newsweek to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement that says 85 sites were targeted in total, including facilities believed to serve as crucial links in the supply chain for IRGC-backed militant groups.

"U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States," the CENTCOM statement reads. "The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions."

"The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces," it continues.

The attacks are unlikely to satisfy Republican critics of Biden, many of whom have been calling for the president to respond by directly attacking Iran, despite concerns that such a move could provoke Tehran into a wider regional conflict that could quickly spiral into a world war.

Iran and its associated militant groups have vowed to respond to any U.S. attacks. The Iraq-based group Kataib Hezbollah said earlier this week that it was "preparing for a possible escalation by the demented Biden" and could "strike any base in the Middle East" with "undeclared long-range weapons." IRGC chief Hossein Salami also warned that "no threat will be left unanswered."