The United States has approved plans for a series of strikes in response to drone and rocket attacks by Iranian-backed militias on US forces in the Middle East, including one that killed three US service members this week in Jordan.

According to a report by CBS News, US officials said the strikes would take place over several days against targets — including Iranian personnel and facilities — inside Iraq and Syria.

According to the report, Weather will be a major factor in the timing of the strikes, as the US is capable of carrying out strikes in bad weather but prefers to have better visibility of selected targets as a safeguard against inadvertently hitting civilians who might stray into the area at the last moment.

Three US Army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service members injured in a drone attack on a US outpost on Saturday night in Jordan near the border with Syria.

The attack, which targeted the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan, marks the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the start of the war with Hamas.

According to officials, the drone was fired by Iranian-backed "militants" and seemed to come from Syria.