US attacks pro-Iran targets in Iraq and Syria and fuels criticism

USA attacked pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq and Syriain retaliation for the death of three of its soldiers in Jordan, which sparked strong condemnation this Saturday from both countries and from Iran, the regional archrival of Washington and Israel.

At least 23 pro-Iran fighters were killed in eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). In its previous balance it reported 18 deaths.

In Iraq, the government reported 16 deaths, including civilians.

The United States indicated that it had carried out these bombings in response to the January 28 attack on a base in Jordan, near the Syrian border, in which three American soldiers died and which Washington attributes to groups backed by Iran.

US retaliation contributes to “fueling the conflict in the Middle East in an extremely dangerous way”the Syrian Foreign Ministry reacted in a statement.

Baghdad denounced a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty” and stated that these attacks raise fears of “disastrous consequences for the security and stability of Iraq and the region.”

In a first step, the Iraqi authorities announced that they will summon the American charge d’affaires in Baghdad.

Iran “strongly” condemned the bombings, calling them a “strategic error,” and warned that they could “aggravate tensions and instability in the region.”

We must all “avoid an escalation” in the Middle East and do everything so that the situation there does not become “explosive,” urged the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

In total, US forces attacked 85 targets at seven different points (four in Syria and three in Iraq).

The operation lasted about thirty minutes and was “a success,” declared the White House, which reiterated that it does not want a “war” with Iran.

“The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who want to harm us know: if you harm an American, we will respond,” warned President Joe Biden.

“Our response began today. It will continue at the time and in the places we choose,” the president said in a statement.

– End of the “occupation” –

These attacks caused “the death of several civilians and soldiers, as well as injuries and significant damage,” the Syrian army said in a statement.

“The occupation of certain parts of Syrian territory by American forces cannot continue any longer,” denounced the Syrian armed forces.

Some 900 US soldiers are deployed in Syria and another 2,500 in neighboring Iraq as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition created to combat the Islamic State (IS) group, which almost ten years ago controlled large areas of both countries.

The defeat of the IS group was announced in 2019 in Syria and in 2017 in Iraq, but the coalition remained to fight jihadist cells that continue to carry out attacks.

The White House said it warned Baghdad of the attacks in advance, which the Iraqi government denied on Saturday.

The US military went into action shortly after the mortal remains of the three soldiers who died in Jordan arrived on its soil, a solemn ceremony attended by President Biden.

– 165 attacks –

Since mid-October, more than 165 drone and rocket attacks have targeted US forces deployed with the anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, but no US service members had been killed until the January 28 attack in Jordan.

Claimed for the most part by a nebula of fighters from pro-Iran groups that call themselves the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” these attacks have multiplied since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7 between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel, closely ally of the United States.

Biden, campaigning for a second term, was under intense pressure to respond to the deaths of the three soldiers.

The government warned that the reprisals will be multiple, against different objectives and spread over time.

According to Allison McManus of the Center for American Progress, the attacks represent a “significant escalation” but will not have much impact. “We have not seen that similar retaliatory attacks have had a deterrent effect,” said the expert.