The US launched fresh air strikes on Iran early Sunday, saying the operation was aimed at punishing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following a deadly attack on a US military base in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one missing and injured four others.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were ordered to further weaken Iran’s ability to disrupt commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that previously handled around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies before the conflict erupted.

The latest strikes followed a drone and missile attack on a US base in Jordan on Friday, marking the first US troop fatalities from direct Iranian fire since the early days of the war.

The identities of the two slain service members were not disclosed.

The latest casualties bring the US military death toll since the conflict began to 16, with more than 430 personnel wounded.

Southern Iran targeted

Iranian state media reported that several locations in the country’s south came under attack overnight.

According to IRNA, an area near Sirik on the Strait of Hormuz was struck around 1.30am local time.

Explosions were also reported near Hajiabad and in Bandar Abbas, while another site near Qeshm Island inside the strategic waterway was targeted, state broadcaster IRIB reported.

The latest attacks came a day after US strikes reportedly damaged an electricity and desalination plant, bridges and tunnels in Hormozgan province, disrupting a key highway leading to Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main commercial port.

Iranian media also reported a strike near the city of Shadegan in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes over the past three weeks, including eight people killed in an attack on a bridge on Friday.

Drone strike hits Iraqi Kurdistan

Across the border in Iraq, a drone strike targeted a base belonging to the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, near Irbil early Sunday, injuring eight members, according to a military official from the group.

Residents in Irbil also reported hearing explosions as air defence systems intercepted incoming drones.

The Kurdish region has witnessed repeated drone attacks in recent days amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.