US approves plans for series of strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq after three soldiers killed
1 February 2024, 15:54
The United States plans to carry out a series of strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq after three American soldiers were killed in Jordan last week.
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The targeted strikes are set to take place over a number of days, officials told CBS News.
An Iranian-backed militia group claimed responsibility for the attack at a US military base which killed three soldiers near the Syrian border.
Iran denied any role in the attack which injured 40 more in the attack at the military base.
The US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that the US President Joe Biden "will not tolerate" attacks on American soldiers.
"Our team mates were killed when a one way drone struck their living quarters," he says.
"We continue to gather the facts about this deadly attack."
Mr Austin continued: "Our team mates were killed by radical militia backed by Iran and operating inside Syria and Iraq".
Read More: Islamic Resistance in Iraq ‘behind strike that killed three US troops in Jordan’
"This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East," he added - but said the US "will take all necessary action".
"In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel terrorist groups backs by Iran and funded by Iran have tried to create even more turmoil, including the Houthis."
It comes a day after Mr Biden said he had decided how America will respond to the deadly strike in Jordan.
He previously hinted at measured action, saying: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I am looking for.”
