Syria and Iraq this Saturday condemned retaliatory attacks by the United States on their territories against elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian armed groups, which killed at least 45 people, including civilians.
The United States has vowed other strikes in response to a Jan. 28 attack attributed by Washington to pro-Iranian groups on an American base in Jordan, near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, that killed three American soldiers. “Our response began today. It will continue as scheduled and in the locations we determine,” President Joe Biden warned Friday.
“Violation of Syria and Iraq’s Sovereignty”
In a statement, the al-Naujaba movement, a member of a network of pro-Iranian armed groups calling itself the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, warned that it would respond to the American strike “at the appropriate time”.
Iran, a sworn enemy of the United States, condemned the “violation of the sovereignty of Syria and Iraq,” while the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in its war against Israel in Gaza, believed they were “adding fuel to the fire.
At least 29 pro-Iranian fighters, including nine Syrians, six Iraqis and six Lebanese from Hezbollah, were killed in the attacks in Deir Ezzor and al-Mayadeen in war-torn eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Rights of Man. OSDH). In Iraq, 16 people, including civilians, were killed, the government announced. However, the toll may be heavy, with Hachad al-Chaabi, a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups integrated into Iraqi forces, lamenting 16 deaths in its ranks.
Security Council meeting
In Baghdad, the officials condemned the “violation of Iraqi sovereignty” and summoned the American charge d’affaires in Baghdad, to whom they delivered a “letter of protest”. According to him, the presence on his soil of the international anti-jihadi coalition led by Washington has “become a threat to the security” of the country.
In Damascus, the Syrian army decided that “the occupation of certain parts of Syrian territory by American forces can no longer continue”. About 900 American troops are stationed in Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq as part of an international coalition formed to fight the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which was defeated in the two countries after it was driven from territories it held. The coalition continues to fight jihadist cells that continue to carry out attacks.
At the request of Russia, which has accused the United States of “sowing chaos” in the Middle East, the UN Security Council should hold an urgent meeting on the subject of the American strike on Monday, according to diplomatic sources.
New American strikes
Friday’s American military intervention lasted about thirty minutes and was a “success,” according to the White House, which assured it did not want “war” with Iran.
A total of 85 targets were hit at seven different locations (four in Syria and three in Iraq), White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. He said American forces targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s ideological army, and pro-Iranian armed groups.
Since mid-October, shortly after the war between Hamas and Israel, a close ally of the United States, began on October 7, more than 165 drone strikes and rocket attacks have targeted American forces in Iraq and Syria, but no American service members. 28 were killed until the January attack. Most of the attacks were claimed by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”.
On Saturday, the United States launched new strikes in Yemen, targeting six Houthi anti-ship missiles “prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea,” where these Yemeni rebels, close to Iran, are increasing attacks.
On Friday, the American military destroyed eight drones off the coast of Yemen and four on land to protect “freedom of navigation” from attacks by the Houthis, who are acting “in solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza.
“The United States does not want conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let those who want to harm us know this well: If you touch an American, we will answer back,” the bodies of three American soldiers killed in the United States returned. Then Joe Biden warned.
