US Strikes More Than 85 Targets In Iraq And Syria: 'This Is The Start'

U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in response to the attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 40 others last weekend.

The retaliatory strikes were carried out by the U.S. Central Command forces across seven facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, an official statement said Friday.

As part of the response, which Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said on Thursday would be 'multi-tiered,' U.S. forces targeted command and control centers, intelligence facilities, and weapons storage facilities. These were used by the Iran-backed militias to attack U.S. and coalition forces, the statement said.

News of the strikes came hours after President Joe Biden and Austin attended a dignified transfer ceremony and met family members of the three soldiers killed in Jordan.

Austin said in a statement that the strikes were "the start" of the U.S. response to last week's drone strike in Jordan and that additional actions will unfold.

"U.S. military forces today conducted strikes on seven facilities, which included more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias use to attack U.S. forces," Austin said. "This is the start of our response. The President has directed additional actions to hold the IRGC and affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on U.S. and Coalition Forces. These will unfold at times and places of our choosing."

"We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces. We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests," read the Defense Secretary's statement.

Syrian State TV reportedly said that the "American aggression on a number of sites at the Badia and the Syrian-Iraqi border" killed and injured "several" people.