US Conduct Series of Airstrikes in Syria: Response for Jordan Bombing?

By Al Mayadeen English

Today 00:15

The United States launches a series of airstrikes on Syria in a possible response for the drone strike that killed three US servicemen in Jordan.

Unidentified air strikes targeted military sites near Ain Ali, south of the city of Al Mayadin in the countryside of Deir Ezzor, Syria, sources told Al Mayadeen on Friday.

The sources later identified the airstrikes as American, saying they bombed the Deir Ezzor airport in the country's east.

Sources tell Al Mayadeen that 3 members of the auxiliary forces to the Syrian Arab Army were martyred as a result of the raids.

Meanwhile, ABC News reported that US military strikes kicked off in Syria in response to the fatal operation in Jordan, which killed three US soldiers and was said to have been carried out by the Iraqi Resistance.

CENTCOM revealed that US forces struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria with numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers that were said to have taken off from the United States.

The US forces struck numerous facilities, CENTCOM claimed, including command and control operation rooms, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, UAV storage, and supply chain facilities in Syria and Iraq.

CENTCOM said it "employed more than 125 precision munitions" in the airstrikes.

In the wake of the lengthy bombing campaign, Biden claimed that he was not after a war in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.

An Al Mayadeen correspondent, meanwhile, reported that explosions were being heard from the US occupation's Conoco base, with plumes of smoke seen rising from the military site.

American UAVs flying over Baghdad after pledges to attack Iraq

The Conoco base was reportedly attacked, though it is unclear where the attack came from and what the nature of it is.

Al Mayadeen captured earlier on Friday of three US drones flying over the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

An Al Mayadeen correspondent in Baghdad, Abdullah Badran, pointed out that three UAVs were flying over the heart of Baghdad, the Green Zone, which houses the Prime Minister's office, Parliament, diplomatic missions, the Defense Ministry, and other key government ministries and institutions.

Badran suggested that this meant the United States was acting in Iraq under the pretext of the international coalition to combat ISIS, which it has been playing another undisclosed role under.

Commenting on the purpose of the US drones flying in the skies of Baghdad, Badran states that it is likely these aircraft are being used in reconnaissance operations as part of the US forces' preparations for attacks on Baghdad in response to the killing of three US personnel in Jordan in an operation they claim to have been carried out by the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah Resistance faction.

The Pentagon said the attack that killed three US soldiers and wounded more than 40 others in Jordan "carried the footprints" of Kataib Hezbollah.

"We don't seek war, but we will take action, and respond to attacks on our forces," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

The Pentagon added that while it would not disclose the nature of the response to the operation that targeted the US forces, "We consider Iran responsible for them."

Later on, US President Joe Biden revealed that he had reached a decision on how to respond to the drone strike, though he emphasized that he did not want to escalate the situation into a broader regional war.

Meanwhile, Politico reported Tuesday on the post-strike confusion and consequent warmongering in the US bureaucracy following the Resistance operation. Notably, the report highlights that the Biden administration's response will be multi-tiered. 

Politico deems it likely that the US retaliation will not be a "massive show of force" but would rather manifest as "several rounds of action."

"Actions may be tiered. We may see several rounds of action," an anonymous official in the Biden administration told NatSec Daily earlier. 

Politico notes that US strikes against Resistance groups, namely the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have failed to deter them. The Resistance groups in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon have remained committed to building up pressure on "Israel" and the US to concede to a ceasefire in Gaza despite the grave casualties the respective groups have been subjected to.