As we’ve just reported, the US has started to attack targets in Iraq and Syria.
It is the beginning of the US retaliation to a drone strike on a US military base in Jordan on Sunday by Iran-backed militants.
US soldiers in the region have been repeatedly targeted in Iraq and Syria by Iran’s proxies since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict last October – but it’s the first time US soldiers have been killed by strikes in the region in that time period.
US intelligence believes that the drone used to attack the facility was manufactured by Iran, according to four US officials who have spoken to Reuters.
The three soldiers killed were members of the Army Reserve: William Rivers, 46, and Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, who were both in their 20s.
At least 41 others were wounded. We’ve been waiting to see how the US would respond, after the White House vowed it would do everything necessary to protect troops.
It emphasised, however, that it was not seeking a war with Iran.
