The U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend.
The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship with and arming of regional militias. And President Joe Biden made it clear in a statement that there will be more to come.
News of those retaliatory strikes came just after the bodies of the fallen soldiers returned to U.S. soil.
One of those service members is from our area.
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Sgt. William Rivers lived in Willingboro, New Jersey, but his family told NBC10 that the city of Philadelphia had his heart.
The city is where he grew up and where many of his family members still live.
His family is now left grieving an indescribable loss.
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"Like a gut punch," Sgt. Rivers' cousin Maurice Muhammad said.
It's a painful reality as Muhammad mourns the loss of a beloved younger cousin.
"I'm very proud to say that's my cousin," he said as he remembered Rivers as an excellent father and a humble man.
It was a life that was shaped and molded in Philadelphia. Sgt. Rivers was a graduate of Germantown High School and his cousin tells us that he loved Philly and he loved Philadelphia sports.
Another definite is that Rivers loved to serve. He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2011 and his cousin told NBC10 that his uniform meant everything to him.
"He loved his country. He loved his family. And he wanted this nation to be the best nation it could be," Muhammad explained.
Rivers, along with two fellow Army Reserve soldiers, made the ultimate sacrifice earlier this week when they were killed in a drone strike on their base in Jordan.
On Friday, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden received their remains as they returned to U.S. soil publicly honoring their memories at Dover Air Force Base.
It's an act that Rivers' family plans to continue.
"Will's going to live forever because what happened will never be forgotten," his cousin said.
