The US on Friday began retaliatory strikes in Syria against Iran-backed militias for a drone strike on an American base in Jordan last Sunday that killed three US service members, ABC News reported.
Earlier, Syrian media reported that warplanes struck targets of the pro-Iranian militias in the Deir ez-Zor district in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-affiliated organization which is based in London, reported that the planes in question were American.
According to the organization, eight posts of the pro-Iranian militias were attacked and at least six people were killed.
The strikes come a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that it is time to further disable Iran-backed militias that have struck at US forces and ships in the Middle East, adding the US is preparing to take significant action in response to the deaths of three service members in Jordan.
"At this point, it's time to take away even more capability than we've taken in the past," Austin said.
His comments followed a report in CBS News which said that the US has approved plans for a series of strikes in response to drone and rocket attacks by Iranian-backed militias on US forces in the Middle East, including the one that killed the three US service members.
On Tuesday, the most powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, announced that it would suspend its attacks against US forces in the region.
Asked about the statement, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a briefing, “We’ve seen those reports. I don’t have a specific comment to provide other than actions speak louder than words.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)