In retaliation for last week’s drone strike that left three American soldiers dead, the United States this Friday bombed dozens of targets in Iraq and Syria that it said were linked to Iran.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was not seeking conflict in the Middle East but warned that his country would respond forcefully to any attack.
The bombing in Iraq and Syria began at 4:00 p.m. Washington time (21:00 GMT) and lasted half an hour. 85 targets and facilities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and pro-Iranian militias operating in these countries were attacked.
Targets attacked include operations centers, intelligence centers, missiles and missiles, drone depots and logistics facilities related to the various attacks carried out by pro-Iranian groups against US forces in recent weeks, according to the Pentagon.
At least 18 members of these pro-Iranian militias were killed in the bombings, an Iraqi military source and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The actions focused on the Al Mayadin area, considered the “Iranian capital” in Syria, as well as the Al Bukamal district, on the border with Iraq and a key supply route for these Syrian government-allied militias.
“Successful” bombings
Although they are still “evaluating” the impact of the bombings, US authorities said today that the attacks were “successful” and accurately hit military targets in both countries.
Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a phone call with reporters that the bombings not only sent a message to the pro-Iranian militias and the Revolutionary Guard, but were also intended to expand their military capacity “in a more robust way weaknesses”.
The official explained that the targets bombed this Friday were “carefully selected” to avoid civilian casualties and the US has “irrefutable evidence” that they are linked to attacks on US personnel in the region.
Kirby added that the U.S. had notified the Iraqi government beforehand and that it had not had any communication with Iran since the bombing that killed the three state soldiers.
Response to the deaths of three Americans
The US was reacting to the drone attack last Sunday in Jordan near the border with Syria, in which three US soldiers were killed and 40 others were injured.
Since the Gaza war began in October, pro-Iranian armed groups have carried out dozens of operations against US targets in Iraq and Syria, but as of Sunday there had been no deaths at any of them.
In fact, Biden attended a ceremony this Friday at the Dover Air Force base (Delaware) to receive the bodies of the three killed soldiers.
The first action was claimed by the pro-Iranian militia group Islamic Resistance of Iraq, which has carried out dozens of attacks on US targets in Iraq and Syria since the start of the Gaza war last October, with no fatalities so far.
Kataib Hezbollah, the target of today’s US response in Al Qaim and a key member of the Islamic Resistance, announced after Sunday’s attack that it would stop attacks on US targets in the region.
However, Biden ultimately blames Iran, a country that has distanced itself from the attack.
“Our response began today. It will continue at a time and place of our choosing,” the president said in a statement released after the bombings.
“But let anyone who intends to harm us know this: If you harm an American, we will respond,” the Democratic president said.
Iraq predicts “catastrophic impact” in the Middle East
Iraqi forces, for their part, condemned the bombings and warned that this action would have “unforeseen consequences” and “catastrophic effects” in the Middle East.
“These attacks are considered a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government and pose a threat that will plunge Iraq and the region into unforeseen consequences, the effects of which will be catastrophic,” the Iraqi Armed Forces spokesman said in a statement Expression. , Yahya Rasul.
The spokesman noted that the city of Al Qaim and other areas near the border with Syria were targeted by attacks by American warplanes and regretted that these came “at a time when Iraq is striving to ensure stability in the region.”
