Washington - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday air strikes on pro-Iran fighters in Iraq and Syria sent a “strong message” not to keep attacking US forces, while Baghdad condemned the overnight aerial assault.
The second such deadly raid on pro-Iran targets since US President Joe Biden took office, described by the Pentagon as “retaliatory”, has sparked fears of a new US-Iran escalation amid faltering efforts to revive a multilateral deal over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“I would hope that the message sent by the strikes last night will be heard and deter future action,” he added, referring to repeated attacks against US interests in Iraq that Washington blames on pro-Iran groups. “Iraq reiterates its refusal to be an arena for settling scores,” Kadhemi added in a statement, urging all sides to avoid any further escalation.
The fighters were stationed there to prevent jihadists infiltrating Iraq, the group said, denying that they had taken part in any attacks against US interests or personnel.
US defence spokesman John Kirby said in a statement that three military facilities used by Iran-backed militia had been hit overnight Sunday to Monday.
The strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the common border, the Pentagon said. Kataeb Hezbollah and Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, two Iraqi Shiite armed factions with close ties to Tehran, were among the “several Iran-backed militia groups” that had used the facilities, the Pentagon said.
At least six more fighters were wounded and the targets included an arms depot near Albu Kamal, a Syrian border town on the Euphrates river, the Observatory said.
US interests in Iraq, where 2,500 American troops are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight the jihadist Islamic State group, have been targeted in more than 40 attacks this year.
Iraq’s foreign ministry said that the government is proceeding with investigations to “prevent any escalation... detrimental to the security and stability of Iraq”.