Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on the U.S. targeted airstrikes against Iran proxies (FOX News). YouTube Tips ⓘ
U.S. air strikes around midnight Friday, February 2 to Saturday, February 3, 2024 hit more than 85 targets at seven facilities, including command and control operations, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, and drone storage sites, according to U.S. Central Command.
At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.
Media in the area are reporting that many of the targeted sites were empty because they were already evacuated.
The air strikes are retaliation for a drone strike, which killed three U.S. troops and injured over 30 service members, which occurred in Jordan in late January. Allegedly by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, the drone attack occurred at Tower 22 (a military outpost in Rukban in northeast Jordan) on January 28, 2024. The attack is one of a series of attacks on US bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria that began in late 2023 after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the Israel–Hamas war.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III referred to the air strikes on February 2, 2024 as “the start of our response.”
Statement From Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on U.S. Strikes in Iraq and Syria, February 2, 2024
Following the attack on U.S. and Coalition Forces in northeastern Jordan this past Sunday that killed three U.S. service members, at President Biden’s direction, 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. 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.
The published statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the Department of Defense was tagged with inherent resolve, which refers to Operation Inherent Resolve — the operational name for the international war against the Islamic State (IS), including a campaign in Iraq, a campaign in Syria, and a closely related campaign in Libya (dod.defense.gov/OIR).
“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”
— President Joe Biden
Also, yesterday on February 1, 2024 at approximately 5:00 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces engaged and shot down one UAV over the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries or damage reported, according to U.S. Central Command.
Later the same day, at approximately 10:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes and destroyed an Iranian-backed Houthi explosive uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) in the Red Sea. U.S. forces identified the USV heading toward the international shipping lane and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region. U.S. Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the USV in self-defense resulting in significant secondary explosions. There were no injuries or damage reported.
Then, at approximately 12:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), two anti-ship ballistic missile were launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen likely towards the M/V Koi (cargo ship that is Liberia-flagged and owned by Bermuda) in the Red Sea. The missiles impacted in the water without hitting the ship. There were no injuries and no damage reported to the M/V Koi or coalition ships in the area.
According to +964 media (in Arabic), the leader of the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, Abu Alaa al-Wala’i, sent a warning to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait for allowing US forces access to their countries to launch the attack on Iraq.
Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades is a radical Iraqi Shia militia formed in 2013 with a stated mission to protect “(Shia) shrines across the globe”, preserve “Iraqi unity” and to “put an end to the sectarian conflict”. KSS is funded, trained and equipped by IRGC’s Quds Force and Hezbollah. KSS also operates in Syria
Abu Ala al-Walai osone of the leaders of the Iranian-backed armed Shiite organization in Iraq.
According to +964, the publication is “(an) Iraqi digital platform founded with the minds of experts and the energy of the youth, relying on national investment that does not impose editorial restrictions. +964 gives priority to presenting Iraq clearly, through the news and stories from the country’s alleys and neighborhoods.”
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