What to know about the US strikes in Iraq and Syria
ABC News
The latest U.S. military strikes targeted a strategic region in Syria and Iraq that Iran has been using to expand its influence in the Middle East
BEIRUT -- The U.S. military has launched strikes on dozens of sites manned by Iran-backed fighters in western Iraq and eastern Syria in retaliation for a drone strike in Jordan in late January that killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens.
Tensions had been rising since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7 and a week later Iran-backed fighters, who are loosely allied with Hamas, began carrying out drone and rocket attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. A deadly strike on the desert outpost known as Tower 22 in Jordan near the Syrian border further increased tensions.
The U.S. retaliation Friday had been expected since the Jan. 28 attack in Jordan.
The 85 targets struck in seven locations are in a strategic region where thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed to help expand Iran’s influence from Tehran to the Mediterranean coast.
U.S. bases in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and the northeastern province of Hassakeh have come under attack for years. The Euphrates River cuts through Syria into Iraq, with U.S. troops and American-backed Kurdish-led fighters on the east bank and Iran-backed fighters and Syrian government forces to the west.
