In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said the strikes hit 85 targets at seven facilities. In a subsequent briefing with reporters, National Security Council spokesperson John F. Kirby said four of the facilities were in Syria and three were in Iraq.

Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, director of operations for the Joint Staff, said fighter aircraft from U.S. Central Command and B-1 bombers flying from the continental U.S. conducted the strikes, deploying more than 125 precision-guided munitions.

“The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces,” a CENTCOM statement added.

Sims said the strikes appeared to be successful and all U.S. aircraft were safe.

Sims and Kirby said the decision to strike Feb. 2 was driven by the weather and a desire to avoid unnecessary casualties. Sims did say, however, that officials expected there to be militant casualties at the facilities.

More strikes will come, Austin said, following up on previous comments suggesting America would not be a passive witness to Iran-sponsored violence.

“This is the start of our response,” Austin said. “The President has directed additional actions to hold the IRGC and affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on U.S. and Coalition Forces. These will unfold at times and places of our choosing. We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces.”

Kirby repeatedly declined to say when and where more strikes would be launched.

Some tweets below suggesting these strikes are mostly hype- thoughts?

Link

President Joe Biden says he has decided how the US will respond to a drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan at the weekend.

Speaking as he left the White House for fundraisers in Florida, Biden added: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East.”

An Iran-backed militia group has claimed responsibility for the attack at a US military base.

Dozens more were injured in Sunday’s strike near the Syrian border.

Biden did not detail exactly what the US action might be, but the White House on Monday promised a “very consequential response”.

Link

The president did not specify what the U.S. would do in response to the attack by Iranian proxies, but said “yes” when asked if he had decided how to respond.

“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden told reporters as he left the White House for campaign events in Florida.

So, will there be a response but what will it be considering Biden’s claim of not wanting wider war.

This has been acknowledged while being denied. Personally speaking I’ve no doubt weapons smuggling is taking place. Surely such a highly profitable operation is well worth the potential risk.

Financial Times: Nato and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling

Nato and EU states are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Ukraine in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market.

“All these weapons land in southern Poland, get shipped to the border and then are just divided up into vehicles to cross: trucks, vans, sometimes private cars,” said one of the western officials. “And from that moment we go blank on their location and we have no idea where they go, where they are used or even if they stay in the country.”

The potential for US weapons sent to Ukraine to fall into the wrong hands is “among a host of considerations” given the “challenging situation” on the ground in the country, said Bonnie Denise Jenkins, US under secretary for arms control and international security, on Tuesday.

Jordan bound Ukrainian Cargo Plane filled with weapons crashes.

An Antonov cargo plane operated by a Ukrainian airline crashed Saturday near the city of Kavala in northern Greece, killing all eight crew members on board, authorities said.

Local residents reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the crash.

Greek Civil Aviation authorities said the flight was heading from Serbia to Jordan. The An-12 — a Soviet-built turboprop aircraft — was operated by the Ukranian cargo carrier Meridian.

As a precaution because of a strong smell emanating from the crash site, a coordinating committee made up of municipal, police and fire service officials told inhabitants of the two localities closest to the crash site to keep their windows shut all night, not to leave their homes and to wear masks.

Authorities say they were concerned that there were dangerous chemicals on the plane, including those contained in batteries.

Explosions continued for hours, say residents

Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority said the pilot managed to issue an alert about a problem in one of the plane’s engines, and he was given the choice of landing in either the Thessaloniki or Kavala airports. He opted for Kavala, which was closer, saying that he had to make an emergency landing.

Communication with the plane ceased almost immediately afterwards. The plane crashed about 40 kilometres west of the airport.

“We were hearing explosions until a few minutes ago,” Filippos Anastassiadis, mayor of the municipality of Paggaio, told AP a little over an hour after the accident. “I am about 300 meters from the site of the crash.”

One of Anastassiadis’ deputies told state broadcaster ERT that explosions were heard for two hours following the crash.

Locals reported seeing a fireball and a plume of smoke before the crash.

ERT reported that army and explosive experts were en route to the site, located on farmland close to two villages that are part of the Paggaio municipality, but they are not expected to start working before dawn. Experts from Greece’s Atomic Energy Commission will join them.

Flight Path of Meridian flight MEM3032

Looks like the plane turned around/turned back in order to attempt the landing in Greece.

Link & image Stuff.co.nz

DW– There is video footage at DW as well

It’s claimed final destination was Bangladesh? Was that where the arms were going? Or could they have been off loaded in Jordan- Easily transferred into Syria from that locale.

Keeping in mind we have the Al Tanf US Military base- conveniently located at the Jordan, Syria, Iraq border—Housing many terrorist fighters.

Nearby is the Rukban refugee camp- Already a Captagon smuggling haven- Can easily move weapons as needed.

“A specialist Greek military army unit that looks for nuclear, biological and chemical substances was expected to comb the site. The fire service has cordoned the area off at a radius of about 400 meters around the crash site.”

Last link

ERT reported that it was a Ukrainian aircraft, which according to villagers was already in flames before it crashed. The aircraft was still burning, according to live footage broadcast on state television.

One firefighter told reporters at the scene: “You need to go away for your safety. There is information that the aircraft was carrying ammunition.”

Anastassiadis told Open TV: “The aircraft crashed around two kilometres away from an inhabited area.”