Retaliation for dead soldiers: US attacks 85 targets in Iraq and Syria

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Now the US is hitting back: the US military has launched air strikes on several targets in the Middle East. Two B-1B “Lancer” heavy bombers, accompanied by about ten fighter jets, carried out attacks on Iranian-backed groups in eastern Syria and Iraq.

This is confirmed by the American regional command Centcom on X. According to this data, targets in Syria and Iraq were hit. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups were attacked, the command said.

Intelligence centers and command posts were attacked

US forces attacked more than 85 targets with bombers and fighter jets. More than 125 precision bombs were used in the air raids.

The regional command wrote: “The facilities attacked include command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, missile and missile depots, and unmanned aircraft depots, as well as logistics and ammunition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors attacking US and coalition forces.”

The airstrike was in response to the deaths of three American soldiers. Three soldiers were killed and at least 20 wounded on Sunday in an overnight drone attack by pro-Iranian militias on a small US outpost in Jordan, the White House said. The massacres near the border with Syria marked a significant escalation of the already precarious situation in the Middle East.

Umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq

Biden blamed “radical Iranian-backed militant groups” for the attack and threatened retaliation. On Wednesday, the US government officially attributed the attack to a group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which had previously claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is a kind of umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, which have been working together under this common name since the October 7 terrorist attacks by the Islamist Hamas in Israel. This also applies to the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah. It is one of the strongest militias in Iraq and is calling for the withdrawal of US troops from the country. Northeastern Jordan, where the deadly attack on US soldiers took place, borders both Syria and Iraq.

Houthis attack cargo ships in the Red Sea

Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas in October, pro-Iranian militias have carried out almost daily attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The US government responded with air strikes in both countries. Moreover, the Yemeni Houthis – in solidarity with Hamas – repeatedly attack cargo ships in the Red Sea. In response, the US and Britain, with the support of allies, carried out military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The American airstrikes have not yet deterred the militias from further attacks. Concerns about escalation are increasing.

For US President Biden, the action against the militias is a balancing act. On the one hand, he wants to prevent his country from becoming embroiled in a regional war in the Middle East. On the other hand, he wants to show strength and put an end to the attacks. At the same time, he is under pressure in the US: some Republicans are calling for more aggressive countermeasures against the attacks on the US military. (SDA/neo)

Source: Blick