U.S. strikes likely to focus on Iranian positions in Syria –Official
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The U.S. strikes in retaliation to the attack which killed American personnel in Jordan will likely focus on Iranian positions inside Syria, said an American official on Thursday.
“Iranian assets outside of Iran could be targets, with most strikes inside Syria,” the unnamed official told ABC News.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the Washington believes the attack “was a plan resourced and facilitated by an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which contains multiple groups, including [Iraqi] Kataib Hezbollah.”
Kirby said that “the response would involve multiple targets.”
On Jan. 28, a drone strike hit a U.S. base in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria, killing three American troops and injuring around 40 others.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have stated that the United States will respond to the attack and take all necessary measures to protect American forces.
Another official told ABC News that the retaliatory attack would be carried out over the course of several days on facilities that enabled the drone strike.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Wednesday, “The U.S. will take all necessary measures to protect American forces in the region and deter any future attacks on U.S. personnel.”