The US conducted a series of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, destroying or damaging 84 out of 85 targets, according to two US defense officials. There are no indications of Iranian casualties resulting from these strikes.
All but one of the 85 targets were either destroyed or functionally damaged, as stated by the officials, who referred to a preliminary battlefield damage assessment.
A comprehensive post-strike analysis is ongoing, but one official mentioned that there are no signs of members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps being killed in the operations.
President Joe Biden, while on his way to Nevada on Sunday, informed accompanying reporters that the strikes are effectively deterring and disrupting militant groups’ activities in the region.
In response to a recent drone attack in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of three US service members and injuries to many others, the US targeted facilities and weapons used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
This marks the first instance of the US carrying out strikes in both countries simultaneously. In Iraq, the US targeted al-Qaim and Akashat near the border with Syria. In Syria, the US struck near al-Barum, Deir ez-Zur, and al-Mayadin. The target list included command and control centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missile, drone storage facilities, and more.
During a briefing with reporters after the strikes on Friday, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, mentioned that the targets were selected “with an idea that there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.”
The Biden administration has faced criticism regarding the timing of its response to the deadly drone strike in Jordan, which allowed the Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria time to relocate their personnel. Sims stated on Friday that favorable weather conditions for the operation were not present until Friday night.
Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remarked that the strikes, surpassing previous US operations in Iraq or Syria in scale, were just the beginning of the US response.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” earlier Sunday, indicated that the US retaliation for the strike that killed three US service members was not concluded. Sullivan referred to the Friday strikes as the “beginning of our response,” emphasizing that there will be additional measures taken.
Following the US strikes, an attack on Saturday against US forces at Mission Support Site Euphrates, also known as the Conoco oil fields, was reported by one of the defense officials. The attack involved two rockets launched against the site, with no injuries or damage reported.
