The US says it has carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border in response to drone attacks on its forces in Iraq. A Pentagon spokesman said the strikes targeted \u201coperational and weapons storage facilities\u201d at three locations. President Biden had been clear he would act to protect US personnel, he added.
\nA powerful Iraqi militia alliance, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), said four members of one faction were killed and threatened to retaliate. About 2,500 US troops are in Iraq as part of a global coalition supporting local security forces in their fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
\nThere have been at least five drone attacks against facilities they use since April, US officials say. Rockets are also frequently fired at them.
\nIraq\u2019s military said the strikes represented a clear breach of Iraqi sovereignty.
\nMilitary spokesman Gen Yehia Rasool tweeted: \u201cWe condemn the US air attack that targeted a site last night on the Iraqi-Syrian border, which represents a blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security.\u201d
\nHe reiterated Iraq\u2019s \u201crefusal to be an arena for settling scores\u201d and appealed for calm.
\nIran also condemned the strikes. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran that the US should \u201crefrain from taking emotional steps, creating crises and tensions, and multiplying problems for people in the region\u201d.
\nSyrian state media reported that a child was killed in a strike near Syria\u2019s border with Iraq, and accused the US of seeking to undermine efforts to improve stability in the area.
\nThe targeted facilities were at two locations in Syria and one inside Iraq, and were used by several Iran-backed groups, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, the Pentagon said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US says it has carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border in response to drone attacks on its forces in Iraq. A Pentagon spokesman said the strikes targeted \u201coperational and weapons storage facilities\u201d at three locations. President Biden had been clear he would act to protect US personnel, he added. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-200696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n