In what is believed to be a retaliation of an attack, the United States counterattacked Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Syria through a series of air raids. This was a response to the drone attacks directed towards the US personnel and facilities in Iraq. However, the militants have threatened to take revenge of the First World country’s move.
The US military, in a statement issued on Sunday, defined their target as the operational and weapons storage facilities located at two places in Syria and one in Iraq. Though they did not mention if they believed any person was killed or injured due to the attacks, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes killed at least 5 fighters and left many others with injuries.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency confirmed there have been fatalities, saying one child was killed and at least 3 other people got wounded.
This was the second attack in the 5 months since President Joe Biden took his position in the White House. The attacks were made on the orders of Mr. Biden as a retaliatory measure. His first direction in February to target an area in Syria with limited bombing was told to be a response to rocket attacks in Iraq.
Explaining the US’s move, Pentagon’s spokesperson, John Kirby said, “The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation – but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message.”
He said the targets were chosen as “these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq”.
The spokesman added that these targeted facilities were used by the Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada military groups among the “several Iran-backed militia groups”.
The Associated Press reported 2 Iraqi militia officials in Baghdad saying that 4 of their group members were killed in the airstrikes near Syria’s border. 4 militiamen of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada faction died in the attack on the Syria-Iraq border, armed groups supported by Iran said in a statement.
Threatening to retaliate, they said, “We will remain the shield defending our beloved nation, and we are fully ready … to respond and take revenge.”
Till now, 2021 has witnessed over 40 attacks against the US facilities in Iraq as 2,500 American troops are stationed to fight ISIS, as a part of an international alliance.
Reacting to the attacks, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed his strong rejection of the move.
“The US still continues the wrong path in the region. What we see today is not only the sanctions but also following the wrong policies of the previous administration with actions they carry out in the region,” he said on Monday.
