5 Iran-backed militias killed in US air strike
In a response to drone attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq, The United States has carried out a round of airstrikes against Iran-backed armed militia group in Iraq and Syria border.
In a statement Pentagon said, “Sunday’s attack targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq”.
However, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, at least five fighters were killed, including several others wounded. According to SANA, Syria’s state news agency, one child has been killed and three other people were killed.
President Biden, for the second time since his oath, ordered retaliatory attacks against Iran-backed militia. Biden last ordered limited bombing against a target in Syria in February, that time in response to rocket attacks in Iraq.
“The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation – but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message,” John Kirby, spokesman for the Pentagon, said in a statement. The number of casualties was not mentioned by Pentagon.
Kirby said the targets were selected because “these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq”.
The Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada military factions were among the “several Iran-backed militia groups” that had used the targeted facilities, Kirby added.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 40 attacks against US interests in Iraq, where 2,500 American troops are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight the Islamic State group.
Source: Aljazeera
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