The U.S. has begun strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria and Jordan in response to the deadly attack on its troops five days ago, ABC News reported on Friday. The Syrian opposition group The Observatory for Human Rights, based in London said earlier that eight positions of the militias have been attacked and at least six people were killed. Sky News Arabic said the attacks were being carried out in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq.
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News of the American strikes came soon after President Joe Biden returned to the White House for a memorial service at the Dover air base in Delawer, for the three U.S. servicemen killed in the attack in Jordan.
The president and his wife met privately with the families before the roughly 15-minute event. "These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country, risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism," Biden said earlier this week. "It is a fight we will not cease."
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U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the Dover airbase for service for dead servicemen killed in Jordan
(Photo: Roberto Schmidt / AFP)
According to a report on CBS, that American plan in response to the attack on its troops will include strikes against Iranians and Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq that will last over a period of days – but will not be carried out on Iranian territory.
"Iran will respond to any threat from the United States, Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ chief Hossein Salami said on Wednesday, Iran's envoy to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani echoed a similar message on Wednesday, saying Tehran would swiftly respond to any attack on its territory, its interests or nationals outside its borders.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, U.S. troops have come under attack from pro-Iranian groups at least 150 times. The attack on the Tower 22 base in Jordan was the first that resulted in American casualties.