A US Air Force F-35 fighter jet. [AFP]
A US Air Force F-35 fighter jet. [AFP]

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed Thursday that it struck the US military's Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan in retaliation for American airstrikes, saying it destroyed three F-35 fighter jets and caused casualties among US personnel.

The IRGC said in a statement that it attacked "the parking area and maintenance hangar of US F-35 fighter jets at Al-Azraq Air Base with multiple ballistic missiles on the morning of Thursday," adding that three F-35s were "completely destroyed" and three others seriously damaged, according to Russia's RIA Novosti, citing Iran's state broadcaster IRIB. Al-Azraq Air Base has been jointly operated by Jordanian and US forces.

The IRGC said the strike was in retaliation for a US bunker-buster bombing Wednesday of a residential area on Iran's Qeshm Island that killed a child and the child's parents and wounded two other children. The IRGC's damage claims have not been independently verified.

Earlier, US Central Command announced Wednesday that it had resumed airstrikes against Iran after a six-day pause, targeting Iranian military command facilities, missile and drone sites, and maritime assets.

In response, the IRGC had warned that "the attackers will be punished on Thursday," signaling plans to retaliate against US facilities in the Middle East.

The US military had not issued a formal response to the IRGC's attack as of Thursday.

Jordan's military said its air defenses intercepted five Iranian missiles fired toward Jordanian territory, with no casualties reported, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, four US service members have been killed in combat over recent weeks, and the Defense Ministry has asked an increasingly skeptical Congress to approve funding for the war effort.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com