Retaliatory US strikes hit Syria after Jordan attack: US media

Washington, United States (AFP) - The US military has launched air strikes against targets in Syria as the start of retaliation for the recent deaths of three soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan, US media reported Friday.

The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the reports from Fox and ABC news networks. Fox News cited an unidentified Defense Department official saying the strikes were launched from multiple platforms.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor meanwhile said that six pro-Iran fighters were killed in strikes in eastern Syria, with Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman saying the strikes were "likely carried out by the US."

Warplanes carried out four rounds of raids on sites housing Iran-backed groups in the eastern Deir Ezzor province, the Observatory said.

News of the strikes broke shortly after the conclusion of a solemn military ritual at a Delaware air base marking the return of the three US soldiers killed in Jordan by a Sunday drone attack that Washington has blamed on an Iran-backed militants.

They were the first American military personnel to be killed in an attack in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, and the United States vowed to carry out a decisive response to the violence, which also wounded more than 40 troops.

However, both Washington and Tehran have sought to avoid an all-out war, and the United States aims to hit back in a way that deters further attacks but does not trigger direct conflict with Iran.

US and coalition troops have been attacked more than 165 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since mid-October with weapons including drones, rockets and short-range ballistic missiles.

Dozens of American personnel were wounded in previous attacks, many of which have been claimed by a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict and wants American troops out of the region.