US Begins Retaliatory Strikes Against Iran’s Syrian and Iraqi Militias

The anticipated response to a drone attack that killed three American soldiers in Jordan last weekend came overnight as the US military launched a multi-pronged air assault on Friday, targeting dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria, all used by militias backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The attack marked the beginning of the "tiered response" promised by President Joe Biden and other top officials in Washington.

The initial wave of strikes, carried out by both manned and unmanned aircraft, focused on crippling militia infrastructure, hitting command and control centers, ammunition storage facilities, and other key targets.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans. We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and… pic.twitter.com/Y53nvRfjjx

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 3, 2024

"At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb 2, 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,” the United States military said in a tweet.

"U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft [including] long-range bombers flown from [the] United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions.” A separate statement by the Pentagon said that military officials believed the strikes were “successful."

The full extent of the operation remains unclear but it seems evident that recent warnings issued by the United States, and recent strikes, failed to deter militias. 

Syrian state media is reporting that an “American aggression“ on sites in the country’s desert areas and on the Syrian and Iraqi border have resulted in a number of casualties and injuries. And earlier on Friday, an Iranian “adviser” of the IRGC was killed in an Israeli missile strike that targeted the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The reports identified the dead man as Saeid Alidadi, without giving his rank.

The Islamic Republic commonly uses the term "adviser" to describe officials deployed in Syria to support forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Tehran.

Syria's state news agency SANA also quoted a Syrian military source as saying that the country’s army had downed Israeli missiles launched at southern Damascus. 

The report said the strikes resulted only in material damage.

Sources have also told the Reuters news agency that the IRGC is scaling back deployment of senior officers in Syria due to concerns over the Islamic Republic being drawn into a wider regional conflict. Five IRGC officers were killed in an Israeli air strike on Damascus on January 20.

The Revolutionary Guards will instead rely more on allied Shia militia to preserve their sway in the war-ravaged country, according to these sources. 

Regional tensions escalated further last weekend when the three American soldiers were killed and dozens more were injured in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on a US outpost in Jordan.