Iran retaliates against US attacks with missile and drone strikes on bases in Gulf region

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC said it had launched strikes against US military bases and assets in the region in retaliation for American attacks on southern Iranian provinces earlier on Tuesday which Iranian officials said killed at least five people and injured more than 50 othersIn a statement issued through its official outlet Sepah News on Tuesday night local time the IRGC said its response to what it described as US aggression had begun It also claimed that Iranian air defences had shot down a US MQ9 Reaper droneThe latest exchange marks a sharp escalation in the confrontation between the United States and Iran with claims of missile and drone attacks emerging from both sidesIRGC claims missile and drone strikes on USlinked basesThe IRGC said its aerospace forces had launched ballistic missile and drone strikes targeting Camp Titin in Jordan and Shaikh Isa Air Base in BahrainIt claimed that the attacks killed a large number of US troops and destroyed several facilities and combat helicoptersThe claims could not immediately be independently verifiedThe IRGC said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for US attacks earlier in the day on targets in southern IranIran says US strikes killed five people at wedding ceremonyIranian officials said at least five people including a fouryearold child and a woman were killed in an alleged US attack on a wedding ceremony in Sirik county in Hormozgan provinceThe semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Ahmad Nafisi Hormozgans deputy governor for political and security affairs as saying that more than 50 people were also injured in the attackThe IRGC said the US had targeted civilian locations along Irans southern coast and described the alleged attack on the wedding ceremony as criminalUS authorities had not immediately commented on Irans claims regarding the reported casualties at the time of the reportsJordan says it intercepted missiles entering its airspaceMeanwhile the Jordanian Armed ForcesArab Army said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 10 of 13 ballistic missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from Iran on Tuesday eveningAccording to a statement issued by the Jordanian military three other missiles fell in remote areas away from populated locationsNo casualties or loss of life were reported as a result of the missile incidents the statement saidThe development came amid reports of Iranian missile activity directed towards targets in the region following the US strikesExplosions reported across southern Iranian provincesMultiple explosions were heard in several southern Iranian provinces on Tuesday evening after US Central Command announced the start of strikes against IRGC targets in IranIranian media reported explosions in Sirik Bandar Abbas Qeshm and Jask in Hormozgan province as well as Konarak and Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan provinceExplosions were also reported in Jiroft in Kerman province and Asaluyeh in Bushehr provinceThe reports emerged shortly after CENTCOM announced the beginning of military operations against IRGC targetsStrait of Hormuz closure remains a key concernThe IRGC said the US attacks would only prolong the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strengthen Irans resolve to counter foreign military forces operating in the strategic waterwayThe Strait of Hormuz is a critical global shipping route and the escalating military confrontation has raised concerns about regional security and the movement of commercial vessels through the areaIrans main military command Khatam alAnbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian armed forces would respond to what it described as US air aggressionIn a statement the military command said Iranian forces would deliver crushing and shattering blows to the United StatesWith inputs from IANS