US launches strikes on Iraq and Syria sites used by Iranian militia

A picture of destroyed sites in Anbar, Iraq, after US warplanes carried out an airstrike. Pic/Getty Images

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.

The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centres, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC's Quds Force, the Guard's expeditionary unit that handles Tehran's relationship with and arming of regional militias. And President Joe Biden made it clear in a statement that there will be more to come.

The US strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the US tried to prevent the conflict from escalating even further. Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack. It was unclear what the impact of the strikes is. US warnings may have sent militia members scattering into hiding.

Though one of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops, others have vowed to continue fighting, casting themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause. "Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden warned, adding, "let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond." The strikes took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, said Lt General Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff.

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