US starts retaliatory strikes in Iraq, Syria -officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States started carrying out retaliatory strikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria, three U.S. officials said, after a deadly attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops and injured some 40 others.

The strikes are believed to be just the first in a multi-tiered response by President Joe Biden's administration in response to the weekend attacks that were carried out by Iran-backed militants.

While the U.S. strikes did not target any locations inside Iran, they are likely to increase concern about tensions in the Middle East spiraling from Israel's more than three-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Two of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the strikes targeted facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the militias it backs.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; editing by Diane Craft)