▪️ The US has begun airstrikes on Middle East targets from multiple platforms, a US Defense official has told Fox New

▪️ There are wounded and dead as a result of US airstrikes on Badiyah on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Al Jazeera reports

The Pentagon told Sputnik that the US has initiated airstrikes in the Middle East in response to an attack on a US base near Jordan

Earlier, the ABC had reported that airstrikes were initiated by the US, but later denied its own report, saying that "an initial battery of strikes in Syria did not come from the US", citing its sources.

Sputnik correspondent reports on the fourth wave of US airstrikes on targets in al-Mayadeen and al-Bukamal towns in eastern Syria

⚡️ Centcom confirms US strikes on Syria and Iraq

"At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. US military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States," read the message posted by US CENTCOM on X.

The agency also claims that more than 125 precision munitions were used in the airstrikes, and among the targets hit were command and control posts and centers, intelligence centers, missile and munitions storages, unmanned aerial vehicles, and logistics and ammunition supply facilities for militia groups and their IRGC sponsors that have facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Sputnik correspondent reports on a missile strike on US Army facilities near the Koniko gas field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria

US airstrikes targeted the headquarters of the Hashd al-Shaabi group in the al-Qaim town near the Iraqi-Syrian border, Al Jazeera reported, citing an Iraqi security source

Hashd al-Shaabi is a coalition of Shiite, Yazidi and Christian militias fighting on the side of the Iraqi government against IS*.

*IS is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries

The US has no plans to strike Iranian territory, CNN reported, citing sources

Joe Biden's statements on US airstrikes in the Middle East

▪️ US response to the attack on the American base near Jordan will continue at times and places of US choosing

▪️ US does not seek conflict in the Middle East, but will respond to all who harms an American

The US airstrikes have completely cut off electricity in Deir ez-Zor, Al-Mayadeen reported, citing its correspondent in Aleppo

US attacks are a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, Yahiah Rasoul, the spokesman for the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s Armed Forces, said

The first strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria, which the US began launching after a recent attack on its base near Jordan, are just the beginning of a response, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin warned.

"This is the start of our response," he said in a released statement. The US defense secretary added that US President Joe Biden has already ordered additional actions.

Those actions "will unfold at times and places of our choosing," he noted and emphasized that the US will take all necessary steps to protect its country, its forces and interests.

Earlier, a source told Sputnik that drones attacked positions of Syrian army allied forces in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria. Syrian state TV Al Akhbar reported that several people were killed in US strikes on positions in the Syrian desert and on the border between Syria and Iraq.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the US hit more than 85 targets belonging to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces and affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria as part of retaliatory strikes against an attack on its military base near Jordan on Friday.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

"Nothing of importance was struck," Scott Ritter commented on today’s US airstrikes against targets in Iraq and Syria

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️ US notified Iraq before airstrikes, White House says

⚠️ WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Social media publish a footage showing a dead man, presumably killed by the US airstrikes in Iraq

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Italian Agricultural Minister Francesco Lollobrigida punctuated the government's commitment to defending the "Made in Italy" brand and its support for the nation’s agro-industry.

He criticized EU policies that, in his view, encourage the reduction of domestic agricultural production in favor of imports from non-EU countries.

"Enough of this policy! We are a small nation, and we must protect our production," he stressed.

Europe has seen an explosion of protests in recent weeks by farmers against what they say is excessive red tape, high fuel costs and unfair competition resulting from the EU's liberal trade policies.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Scott Ritter: Is Zaluzhny Getting Ready to Take Down Zelensky?

The growing rift between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and top general Valery Zaluzhny could soon prove fatal for the country’s fragile political system, argues Scott Ritter in his latest column.

“If the reports of what is tantamount to a refusal to obey the lawful order of his civilian commander in chief are true, General Zaluzhny has opened a pandora’s box which, if left unresolved, could lead to the rapid unravelling of Ukraine’s civilian-controlled government and open the door for the emergence of a government that is either subordinated to the will of the Ukrainian military, or which has been replaced by a military junta.

Neither bodes well either for the sustainment of the notion that Ukraine functions as a democracy along the lines of its European and US allies, or for the prospects of stable governance for Ukraine at a time when it faces unprecedented economic, military, and foreign policy challenges.”

Read full article here

Reports about a complete power outage in the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria following US airstrikes are not true, a source in the Syrian Ministry of Electricity told Sputnik correspondent