US retaliatory airstrikes updates: White House vows to take 'more action'

Saturday's strikes in Yemen followed ones in Iraq and Syria the day prior.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Jon Haworth, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: February 4, 2024, 10:47 AM EST

The United States on Friday began to carry out airstrikes against Iran-backed militants and Iranian military targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a drone attack on an American base in Jordan on Jan. 28 that killed three U.S. service members.

Dozens of other American troops were wounded in the drone attack on the Tower 22 base near Jordan's border with Iraq and Syria. The U.S. says Iran is responsible for funding and arming the militants while Iran has denied involvement.

U.S. President Joe Biden had quickly warned that America would respond forcefully, escalating U.S. involvement in the Middle East after months of trying to contain tensions from boiling over into a broader war in the region.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 2, 1:59 pm

What we know about the drone attack on US base in Jordan

The U.S. has attributed the drone attack on the American base in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias.

According to a U.S. official, the drone that successfully hit the base was an Iranian-made Shahed drone, similar to those used by the Russians on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Iran has denied involvement in the Jordan strike. But President Joe Biden earlier this week faulted Iran for providing munitions and funding to these different proxy groups.

The U.S. base is known as Tower 22, a major logistical hub for U.S. troops still in Syria on a mission to prevent a resurgence by Islamic State fighters. According to Central Command, there are approximately 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel deployed to the base.

In this Maxar satellite image, Tower 22, which houses a small number of U.S. troops, is shown in northern Jordan.
2024 Maxar Technologies via Getty Images

Feb 02, 2024, 3:08 PM EST

Blinken, in coming Middle East visit, to continue work on preventing wider conflict

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East from Sunday to Thursday, making stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank.

It will mark Blinken’s fifth visit to the region since Oct. 7.

One focus, according to the State Department, will be to continue work to prevent the conflict from spreading -- a major concern as the U.S. readies retaliatory strikes -- while also “reaffirming that the United States will take appropriate steps to defend its personnel and the right to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”

Feb 02, 2024, 2:30 PM EST

Biden attends dignified transfer ceremony for fallen troops

Biden joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to witness the return of the remains of three fallen Army reservists killed in Jordan.

He was accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden attends the dignified transfer of the remains of Army Reserve Sergeants William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024.
President Joe Biden attends the dignified transfer of the remains of Army Reserve Sergeants William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, three U.S. service members who were killed in Jordan during a drone attack carried out by Iran-backed militants, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

They met with the families privately before receiving the remains, the White House said.

The Pentagon identified the fallen soldiers as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden attends the dignified transfer of the remains of Army Reserve Sergeants William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024.
President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown attend the dignified transfer of the remains of Army Reserve Sergeants William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, three U.S. service members who were killed in Jordan during a drone attack carried out by Iran-backed militants, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Feb 02, 2024, 1:45 PM EST

US will have a 'multi-tiered' response

The Biden administration has been preparing to strike back in the Middle East after three American troops were killed and dozens more wounded in a drone attack in Jordan on Sunday.

"We will have multi-tiered response, and again, we have the ability to respond a number of times depending on what the situation is," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday.

The Pentagon has declined to get into specifics on when and where the strikes would take place, although Austin said the goal is to degrade the capabilities of Iran-backed militants without plunging the region into a broader war

A U.S. official familiar with the plan said the strikes will unfold across several days and hit multiple countries including Iraq, Syria and possibly Yemen.