Early reports suggest dozens were killed in the U.S. airstrikes.
Topline
The U.S. responded to Iran-linked militants’ airstrikes in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers with its own airstrikes against dozens of Iran-linked targets Friday, reportedly killing dozens as tensions across the Middle East continue to grow.Key Facts
The U.S. on Friday struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Corps Quds Force and other affiliated militia groups, according to U.S. Central Command—though President Joe Biden framed the strikes as just the beginning, claiming in a statement that the U.S. response would “continue at times and places of our choosing.”
The targets included, among other things, “command and control operations centers” of militia groups and “IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces,” according to Central Command.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a state force said to include Iran-backed factions, said the strikes killed 16 of its members, with the Iraqi government reportedly saying the 16 killed included civilians.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors attacks in Syria, said there were 23 deaths of Iran-backed fighters in the country—the Syrian defense ministry claimed that civilians were killed.
