US said to back strikes on Iran targets in Iraq, Syria as Gaza truce hopes rise

The planned targets for U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria in response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers by a drone in Jordan include "Iranian personnel and facilities", CBS News reported on Thursday, citing American officials.

The United States has assessed that the drone, which also wounded more than 40 people, was made by Iran, four U.S. officials told Reuters. Sources said Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards were pulling senior officers out of Syria.

The CBS report follows days of conjecture about how Washington would retaliate after three U.S. soldiers were killed on Saturday in a strike on their base.

The fatalities were the first U.S. deaths in an escalation of violence across the Middle East since Israel's war in Gaza began in October.

Even as fighting has intensified this week, diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave have accelerated.