U.S. begins retaliatory strikes against targets in Iraq, Syria

U.S. forces struck targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday, as part of a response to militants’ strikes against the Tower 22 base in Jordan, near the border with Syria. The United States had warned for days that strikes were coming after militants from the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked the base with a drone on Sunday. The attack killed three U.S. servicemembers and wounded dozens more.

What’s going on now? U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday said it was time to more effectively disable militants’ capacity to harm U.S. troops. Earlier this week National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. response could have multiple events and stages.

Will the United States attack Iran? U.S. officials have said they don’t want a war with Iran. Iran has denied involvement with the attack on Tower 22, saying that militant groups in the region do not attack U.S. forces under orders from Tehran. Iran has warned the United States against attacking it.

Dig deeper: Read Mark LiVecche’s column in WORLD Opinions about how the U.S. response to Iran should be strong but also smart.