The US says it has carried out a series of strikes on Iranian military and surveillance sites in response to the downing of an American helicopter in the Gulf.
Air defence systems, ground control stations and radar sites were targeted near the Strait of Hormuz, the US military Central Command (Centcom) said.
In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched strikes on 21 targets at US bases in the region, one in Bahrain and the other in Jordan, while Kuwait's army said it was also intercepting an attack.
The US has described its strikes as "a proportional response" for the Apache helicopter downing on Monday, while the IRGC described the attacks as "vicious".
US President Donald Trump had earlier accused Iran of shooting down the helicopter and said the US "must, of necessity" respond. The two crew members survived and were rescued by an American sea drone.
According to US officials, Iran used a drone to launch the attack on the helicopter. But it is not clear whether the Iranian drone had deliberately attacked, an unnamed US official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Iran had not claimed responsibility for the downed aircraft.
Trump said the helicopter had been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel that was effectively closed days after the US and Israel launched its first strikes on Iran in late February.
On Wednesday, the IRGC said US strikes had damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks, and added the US had targeted the cities of Jask and Sirik, and Qeshm - an island in the Gulf.
US officials are yet to comment on reports of attacks on its bases and it is unclear if there has been any damage. Jordan's military said it had shot down five missiles fired from Iran.
Earlier, an air raid alert was issued in Bahrain, according to local authorities who said Iranian attacks had been repelled.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze9359gglyo
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