Mark Warner: Strikes on militant groups in Iraq, Syria ‘sending a clear message’

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said late Friday that he is “glad to see President Biden taking action against those responsible for the deaths of American soldiers in Jordan,” on news that U.S. forces had conducted a series of strikes today against Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria in response to last weekend’s attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers.

“We’re sending a clear message: targeting American lives will be met with swift, severe, and punishing repercussions,” said Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in a comment posted to Twitter.

According to the Pentagon, the strikes hit more than 85 targets across seven facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.

The targets included command and control centers, intelligence facilities and weapons storage facilities used by the Iran-backed militias to attack U.S. and coalition forces.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement that Biden has directed additional actions to hold the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces.

“These will unfold at times and places of our choosing,” Austin said.

Biden said in a statement that the strikes were just the first in a series of actions by the U.S. in response to the attack in Jordan.

“The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” he said. “But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”

Pentagon officials said the facilities targeted in today’s strikes were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and were based on clear evidence that they were connected to attacks on U.S. personnel.

“The Department of Defense is in the early stages of battle damage assessment, but we believe that the strikes were successful,” said John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, during a briefing following the strikes.

Kirby said the president was kept informed on the operation throughout the afternoon.

“As President Biden has made clear, we will not hesitate to defend our people and hold responsible all those who harm Americans at a time and place of our choosing,” Kirby said. “That began tonight — but it will not end tonight.”