US strikes 85 targets in Iraq and Syria after Jordan attack

The United States military launched a series of precision airstrikes against 85 targets in Iraq and Syria on February 2, responding to a drone attack that killed three American service members in Jordan. The retaliatory campaign marks a sharp escalation in regional tensions, targeting facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militia groups. Retaliatory Strikes and Military Assets The operation involved long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States, which deployed more than 125 precision-guided munitions. According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes hit command and control centers, intelligence hubs, rocket and missile storage sites, and drone supply chain facilities. The strikes focused on seven distinct locations—three in Iraq and four in Syria—linked to the militias responsible for attacks against U.S. personnel. The military action followed the January 28 strike on Tower 22, a logistics base in Jordan near the Syrian border. That attack resulted in the first U.S. combat fatalities in the region since the start of the Gaza conflict in October. Pentagon officials identified the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of…