USA has bombed targets in Syria and Iraq this Friday, thus beginning its response to the attack that last Sunday killed three of his soldiers in Jordan and wounded another 40. This was reported by various US media outlets and subsequently confirmed by the US Army Central Command (CENTCOM).

Specifically, the US Army has confirmed having launched air strikes against targets of the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Quds Force and pro-Iran militias in Iraq and Syria. The US claims to have struck more than 85 objectives with numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers sent from the North American country, for which it has used more than 125 precision munitions.

According to CENTCOM, the facilities attacked include command and control operations centersintelligence centers and rocket, missile and drone warehousesas well as logistics and ammunition supply chain facilities of the militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that “facilitated attacks against US forces“.

He Iraq Army has confirmed the airstrikes on its border, warning that they “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi Government and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region to dire consequences“. Syrian state media have also reported a “American aggression” in areas of the desert and on the border with Iraq, with victims and injuries.

The attacks would have ended with the death of at least 18 members of pro-Iran militias in both countries, according to an Iraqi military source cited by Efe and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The latter organization, based in the United Kingdom, has reported that the airstrikes would have caused the death of 13 militiamen and destroyed 17 positions of armed groups supported by Tehran in the eastern province of Deir al Zur.

On the other hand, an Iraqi Army source cited by the same agency indicates that at least five pro-Iran militiamen have been killed and three others have been wounded in air attacks against positions of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia in the Al Qaim area, next to the border with Syria.

Biden warns: retaliation “will continue”

The promised American reaction to the drone attack in Jordan has begun precisely the same day that The bodies of the three deceased soldiers arrived to the North American country, where they have been received by the president himself Joe Bidenwhich has warned after the attacks that US response will continue.

In a statement issued by the White House, Biden recalls that last Sunday three American soldiers died in Jordan, in a drone attack that the US attributes to militias backed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Democratic president also points out that this Friday he attended the return of his coffins and was able to speak with his family.

“This afternoon, under my direction, US military forces have struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militias use to attack US forces,” the president continues, warning: “Our response has begun today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing“.

Biden assures, however, that The US “does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world”, but issues a warning: “But let all those who may try to harm us know: If you harm an American, we will respond.“.

Washington had already promised a response to the attack in Jordan, but US authorities had not given details about how, where or when it would occur. The Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, did warn this Thursday that the retaliation could be “multiple.” “We have the ability to respond multiple timesdepending on what the situation is,” the Pentagon chief warned.

The American bombings this Friday would, therefore, be just the first phase of a multi-level response by the Biden Administration. Although in principle the attacks have not been directed against targets inside Iranyes, they can further tense the situation in the Middle East, a region turned into a hornet’s nest by the war in the Gaza Strip, which has reactivated other sources of conflict.