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US Forces Hit Over 80 Sites In Syria, Iraq So Far

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON/DAMASCUS/BAGHDAD (Worthy News) – The U.S. military so far hit more than 80 targets in Syria and Iraq in a massive retaliatory air assault on sites belonging to Iran-linked militias and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard, several sources confirmed early Saturday in the Middle East.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he ordered the attacks carried out overnight local time in response to the drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan last Sunday.

Military officials said they sought to hit those involved in the deadly attack on Tower 22, a small U.S. base in northeastern Jordan, close to the border with Syria. In addition to the three Americans killed, some 25 other soldiers were injured, U.S. officials said.

Ahead of the U.S. air assault, Biden had warned, “If you harm an American, we will respond,” but he came under Republican pressure to act fast. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” Biden added in a statement late Friday.

The U.S. military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it had struck with more than 125 bombs in an attack that took place around midnight local time as part of the first of multiple strikes against these Iran-linked groups.

“U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States,” Centcom said in a statement.

The strikes were aimed at facilities believed to be controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups, the military explained.

CASUALTIES UNCLEAR

It was not immediately clear how many fighters or others had been killed or injured in the attacks.

Remarkably, the U.S. stopped short of directly hitting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders as the U.S. tried to prevent an all-out war with Iran.

Tehran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack and warned Washington it would hit back hard if attacked on its territory. However, Republicans have urged the president to strike mercilessly, including on Iranian soil. They accused Biden of turning American troops into “sitting ducks.”

Former President Donald J. Trump, the likely Republican presidential candidate for this year’s elections, called the attack against U.S. troops a result of the “weakness” of Biden’s policies.

He also warned that his successor leads everyone “on the brink of World War Three.”
“Our country cannot survive with Joe Biden as Commander in Chief,” Trump said on his Truth Social media outlet late Sunday after the deadly drone strike against the U.S. military in Jordan.

The U.S. strikes came hours after President Biden met Friday with the families of American service members killed in the drone strike in Jordan and participated in a “dignified transfer,” a solemn ceremony in which the troops’ remains return to the U.S.

The president and first lady Jill Biden attended the ceremony at Dover Air Force Base along with other U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. C.Q. Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.