In response to what Iraq described as a “new US aggression,” at least 16 people, including civilians, lost their lives in US strikes in Iraq, according to government officials. The strikes targeted both civilian and security areas, resulting in 25 people sustaining injuries. The Iraqi government condemned the attacks, citing a violation of its sovereignty, and warned of potential dire consequences in the region.
The United States conducted the strikes in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for an attack that claimed the lives of American soldiers in Jordan amid Israel’s conflict with Gaza. The Iraqi government expressed concern that such aggressive actions would jeopardize security in Iraq and the broader region.
The Iraqi government refuted Washington’s claim of coordinating the air attacks with Baghdad, dismissing it as “false” and aimed at misleading international public opinion. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office asserted that the presence of the US-led military coalition in the region has become a threat to Iraq’s security and stability.
In response to the situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US charge d’affaires in Baghdad to formally protest the actions. Simultaneously, Iran-aligned groups claimed responsibility for attacking US bases in Syria, as well as western and northern Iraq.
Syria’s Ministry of Defence criticized the “aggression of the American occupation forces,” emphasizing that the targeted areas were where the military was engaged in combat against remnants of the ISIS armed group. Reports from Syrian state media indicated casualties in the country’s desert region and border areas with Iraq.
While the strikes did not occur within Iranian territory, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned them as “another adventurous action and another strategic error” by the US government. The ministry predicted that such actions would only intensify instability in the region.
The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, stated that the goal of the attacks was to deter Iran-aligned groups’ assaults rather than provoke a war with Iran. President Joe Biden asserted that the strikes would continue at chosen times and places.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) disclosed using bombers and over 125 precision munitions to target more than 85 locations, including command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, and weapons storage facilities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Tehran-backed armed groups.
Despite Washington’s claim that its targets were supported by the Quds Force command of the IRGC, no Iranian personnel are believed to have been killed. The attacks came nearly a week after the killing of three US soldiers in a drone attack on the Tower 22 base near the Syria-Jordan border. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of forces viewing US troops as “occupying forces,” had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Reporting from Baghdad, Al Jazeera highlighted that the Iraqi resistance, including Iran-aligned groups, conducted retaliatory attacks. Missiles targeted the al-Tanf military base in Syria, housing US personnel, and the Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, despite announcing a suspension of hostile operations against US troops earlier, claimed responsibility for an attack on the Harir base in Erbil, northern Iraq, using unspecified drones. However, security sources contradicted this, stating no attack had been detected on the air base hosting US forces.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
