US destroys or damages 84 of 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, officials say; There were no signs of Iranian casualties

CNN
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The US destroyed or damaged 84 of its 85 targets A series of airstrikes on Friday In Syria and Iraq, there were no signs of Iranian casualties, according to two US defense officials.

All but one of the 85 targets were “destroyed or functionally damaged,” officials said, citing a battlefield damage assessment.

A full post-strike analysis is still underway, but an official said there were no indications that members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed as part of the operations.

President Joe Biden told reporters traveling with him to Nevada on Sunday that the strikes were aimed at deterring and disrupting the activities of militant groups in the region.

An answer Three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack And last weekend, the United States targeted facilities and weapons used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, amid heavy casualties in Jordan.

This was the first time that the United States had attacked both countries simultaneously. In Iraq, the US targeted al-Qaim and Akash, near the border with Syria. Also in Syria, the US launched strikes near al-Baram, Deir es-Zur and al-Mayadeen. The target list includes command and control centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, drone storage facilities and more.

In a briefing with reporters after the strikes on Friday, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the targets were chosen “with the idea that there could be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.”

The Biden administration has faced criticism for waiting too long to respond to a deadly drone strike in Jordan, giving Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria time to move their personnel. Sims said Friday that the weather wasn't good enough for the operation until Friday night.

Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes, far larger than previous US operations in Iraq or Syria, were just the beginning of a US response.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's Dana Bash that “State of the UnionThe US did not retaliate against the strike, which killed three US service members. Sullivan called Friday's strikes “the beginning of our response and there will be many more steps.”

After the US attack, an attack was launched on Saturday against US forces at Mission Support Site Euphrates, also known as the Conoco oil fields, according to one of the security officials. The attack consisted of two rockets fired against the site, and no injuries or damage were reported.