The airstrikes come less than a week after the deaths of three U.S. soldiers

By Jennifer Griffin , Brie Stimson , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten Fox News

Published February 2, 2024 3:43pm EST

Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg ‘not impressed’ with Biden’s retaliatory response to Iran-backed attacks

Fox News contributor Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg reacts to news that the U.S. has begun retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian proxies and affiliates in the Middle East.

The U.S. has begun retaliatory strikes on Middle East targets from multiple platforms, a U.S Defense official has told Fox News. 

The strikes are in response to the deaths of three U.S. service members last Sunday on a U.S. base in Jordan.  

The initial strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft were hitting command and control headquarters.

US BEGINS SYRIA TARGET AIRSTRIKES IN RESPONSE TO DEADLY DRONE ATTACK IN JORDAN

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend the dignified transfer of the remains of three U.S. service members killed in the drone attack on the U.S. military outpost in Jordan, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024.  (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that forces conducted airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups.

CENTCOM said that the attack came at 4 p.m. EST on Feb. 2.

President Biden put out a statement shortly after the strikes were confirmed on Friday, warning, “If you harm an American, we will respond.” 

“This past Sunday, three American soldiers were killed in Jordan by a drone launched by militant groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Earlier today, I attended the dignified return of these brave Americans at Dover Airforce Base, and I have spoken with each of their families.”

He added, “This afternoon, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces. Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”

BIDEN ATTENDS DIGNIFIED TRANSFER OF FALLEN TROOPS KILLED IN JORDAN DRONE ATTACK

The agency said that forces conducted the strikes with numerous aircraft, including two B-1-B bombers. The airstrike also used more than 125 precision munitions. 

The 85 targets included command and control operations, intelligence centers, militia group’s rockets, missiles, unmanned vehicle storages and supply chain facilities, CENTCOM said.

The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, April 21, 2023.  (Photographer: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The strikes come after drone strikes killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend.

The fallen troops were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46; Spc. Kennedy Landon Sanders, 24; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, all of whom were from Georgia.

President Joe Biden previously said that he holds Iran responsible for the attack because they supplied the weapons to the people who perpetrated the attack, but he also noted that he does not wish to escalate tensions with the Islamic Republic.

“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East,” he told reporters on Tuesday, Jan. 30. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”

The Pentagon in Washington, March 27, 2008.  (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters to expect a “tiered approach” and not a single strike.

PENTAGON SAYS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ISN’T SPREADING DESPITE US SOLDIERS KILLED IN JORDAN, RED SEA ATTACKS

“It’s very possible that what you’ll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but potentially multiple actions over a period of time,” he said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, speaks during a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, March 15, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Early Thursday morning, U.S. Central Command forces shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Gulf of Aden. 

There were no injuries and later Thursday morning, U.S. forces conducted strikes and destroyed an Iranian-backed Houthi explosive uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) in the Red Sea. 

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.