US planes attack 85 targets in Iraq, Syria, statement says
The United States says it has carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in response to a recent drone attack in Jordan that killed three American service members.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which operates military activities in the West Asia region, said on the X platform early on Saturday that “US military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flying from the United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions.”
CENTCOM said that the strikes had hit facilities of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and “affiliated militia groups”.
The US military was referring to the Iraq-based resistance groups that have been hitting US bases in Iraq and Syria with drones and missiles over the past several months in retaliation for Washington’s support for the Tel Aviv regime in its brutal war on Gaza, which is now in its fourth month and has killed more than 27,000 people in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Iraq-based resistance factions, belonging to an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), are also opposed to the US presence in Iraq and have been pushing for the withdrawal of American forces from the Arab country, blaming their presence for instability in the region.
The US has said that IRI was behind the drone strike on the American outpost in Jordan last Sunday which also left nearly 40 US troops injured. Washington has also blamed Iran due to its support of the resistance groups in the region.
Iran has time and again denied directing the groups, saying that they act independently in their decisions and actions including those carried out in support of the Palestinian people.
No IRGC targets involved
Meanwhile, Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network, said that the IRGC Quds Force had no bases in the areas struck by the US on Friday.
Al Jazeera cited informed sources who rejected the US claims of targeting IRGC positions as unfounded and said that those claims were aimed at deceiving the public opinion.
The same sources also branded the US airstrikes as a blatant act of aggression against Iraq and Syria and said they would pose harm to the region.