US retaliatory airstrikes updates: White House vows to take 'more action' after deadly drone attack
Saturday's strikes in Yemen followed ones in Iraq and Syria the day prior.
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.
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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.
Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons US diplomat following strikes
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the United States Embassy in Baghdad, the Iraqi MFA said in an official statement.
"In protest against the American aggression that targeted Iraqi military and civilian sites, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the Charge d'Affairs of the United States Embassy in Baghdad, Mr. David Perker, due to the absence of the American Ambassador, to hand him an official note of protest regarding the American attack that targeted military and civilian sites in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions yesterday evening," the MFA statement said.
U.S. strikes in Iraq killed at least 16 and wounded 25: Iraqi government
U.S. strikes in Iraq killed at least 16 people and wounded 25 others, the Iraqi government confirmed in an official statement.
"The American administration committed a new aggression against the sovereignty of Iraq, as the locations of our security forces, in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, as well as neighboring civilian places, were bombed by several American aircraft," said the Iraqi government. "This blatant aggression led to 16 martyrs, including civilians, in addition to 25 wounded. It also caused losses and damage to residential buildings and citizens’ property."
The Iraqi government also said the strikes would "put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss" and that they directly contradict the United States effort to "establish the required stability" in the region.
Video of B-1 bomber aircraft taking off to carry out airstrike: CENTCOM
The United States Central Command posted a video Friday evening showing B-1 bomber aircraft taking off from its bases in the U.S. to carry out the airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
"Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans. We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and hold those responsible who threaten their safety," Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, U.S. CENTCOM Commander, said in a statement.
'We believe that the strikes were successful': Kirby
The Department of Defense is in the early stages of battle damage assessment "but we believe that the strikes were successful," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a call Friday.
"The initial indications are that we hit exactly what we meant to hit, with a number of secondary explosions associated with the ammunition and logistics locations," Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Chiefs, said on the call.
Kirby said the strikes took place in the course of 30 minutes and involved over 125 precision-guided munitions. Of the seven total strike locations, three were in Iraq and four were in Syria, according to Sims.
Targeted facilities included command and control centers, intelligence centers, rocket missile and drone storage facilities, and logistics ammunition supply chain facilities, Kirby said.
Kirby noted the targets were chosen to avoid civilian casualties and because they were connected to enabling the attacks against the U.S. service members.
The administration does not know at this time if or how many militants may have been killed or wounded.
Officials would not tell ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce definitively whether there will be more strikes Friday night but said all U.S. aircraft were out of harm's way.
Kirby said the strikes are expected to continue in the "coming days."
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle
US, UK launch strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen
The militaries of the U.S. and U.K. launched strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand, the countries said in a joint statement Saturday.
The strikes targeted 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea, the statement said.
"These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda," the statement said.
-ABC News' Nate Luna