US launches airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for drone attack

The initial strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft were hitting command and control headquarters, ammunition storage and other facilities.

A military base known as Tower 22 in north-eastern Jordan was targeted by a bomb-carrying drone (Planet Labs PBC/AP)

The US military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds force on Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last weekend, officials told The Associated Press.

President Joe Biden and other top US leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it would not be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.