US Central Command announced on Friday that that it had hit 85 Kata'ib Hezbollah targets in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a recent drone attack on a U.S. military headquarters in Jordan near the border with Syria that killed three US service members.

The attacks were conducted last night. Officials in Iraq have condemned the attacks.

Reportedly, the overnight air strikes on Syria killed at least 18 fighters.

Kataib Hezbollah had said the attacks on the American headquarters in the region, including the recent one in Jordan, were in response to Washington’s full support for Israel’s massacre of the Palestinians in Gaza, which started in October 2023. Kataib Hezbollah, also called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have so far fired missiles at Israel's for its genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip.   

US military officials have not provided an estimated death toll but have said the strikes resulted in causalities.

Following the air strikes on Iraq and Syria, the United States military has signaled that further action is planned.

The United States has been claiming that these groups are linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). However, Iran says these groups are independent and don’t take orders from Tehran.

“…affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the US Central Command, said in a post on X accompanied by footage of US military planes taking off.

“We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and hold those responsible who threaten their safety.”

The White House has said it informed Baghdad before it carried out air strikes inside Iraq after the Iraqi military accused Washington of violating the country’s sovereignty.

“We did inform the Iraqi government prior to the strikes,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a press briefing on Friday.

Kirby’s remarks came shortly after a spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces condemned the strikes.

“These strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, an undermining of the efforts of the Iraqi government, and a threat that will drag Iraq and the region into undesirable consequences, the consequences of which will be dire for security and stability in Iraq and the region,” Yahya Rasool was quoted as saying by the Iraqi News Agency.

US President Joe Biden’s decision to launch air strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria has been welcomed by both Democrats and Republicans, although some conservative lawmakers are complaining they did not go far enough.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed, who chairs the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said proxy forces had been “dealt a significant blow”, and groups in the region should understand they would be held accountable.

“I salute the brave US military members who carried out today’s strikes, and I support President Biden’s robust action,” Reed said, al Jazeera reported.

“These strikes, in concert with wise diplomacy, send a clear signal that the United States will continue to take appropriate action to protect our personnel and our interests.”

Joni Ernst, a Republican senator from Iowa, said the strikes were overdue and Iran “needs to know the price for American lives”.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the strikes but said they had come “far too late”.

“Iran and its proxies have tried to kill American soldiers and sink our warships 165 times while the Biden administration congratulates itself for doing the bare minimum,” Wicker said.

US says ‘does not seek conflict’ with Iran despite strikes

The White House has insisted that the United States is not looking for a war with Iran.

“We do not seek conflict with Iran,” National Security Council spokesman Kirby told journalists.

“These targets were chosen to disrupt the capabilities of the IRGC and the groups they sponsor. We believe these targets fell into that criteria. The goal is to get these attacks to stop. We’re not looking for a war with Iran.”

Kirby said the strikes were believed to be successful and Washington’s responses to the drone attack “aren’t going to end tonight”.