On Friday, February 2, the United States launched a counterattack targeting al-Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and personnel of pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria, at the same time as the remains. Three of the American soldiers killed in Jordan were sent back to the United States, announcing the American military command for the Middle East (CENTCOM). The intervention, which lasted about thirty minutes, was “success”The White House said.
At least twenty-three pro-Iranian fighters, including five in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, were killed in airstrikes in eastern Syria and western Iraq, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported. In Iraq, 16 people, including civilians, were killed and 25 wounded, according to an official report released by the Iraqi government.
Joe Biden vowed to respond to the deadly drone strike on Sunday, January 28, near the Syrian border, which Washington attributed to Iran-backed groups. “Our response began today. It will continue as per the schedule and at the locations we have decided”.The president said on Friday. “The United States does not want conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let those who seek to harm us know this well: If you touch an American, we will respond.He announced in a press release, hours after the bodies of the three slain American soldiers were recovered.
The American executive indicated that the retaliation would be multiple and spread over time against different targets.
Eighty-five targeted sites
The White House assured that the United States “The Iraqi government was warned before the strike”..
This strike “Includes over 125 precision battles”They targeted more than 85 targets at seven different sites (three in Iraq and four in Syria), including command and intelligence centers as well as storage infrastructure, Centcom said in its press release. Includes Iranian military drones and missiles. and forces “which enabled attacks on US and coalition forces”, including Sundays. The Pentagon said Friday’s attack involved numerous warplanes, including long-range bombers.
“The headquarters of the armed groups in al-Qaim area was targeted, according to initial information, a small arms warehouse”, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official told Agence France-Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity. An official from Hachad al-Chaabi, a coalition of former paramilitary forces that brings together these pro-Iranian groups, confirmed the strike and another bombing targeting a location in the al-Akachat region further south.
Iran condemns “strongly”; Syria condemns American “occupation”.
Iran has “forcefully condemned” Strike carried out, denounced “Violation of Syria and Iraq’s Sovereignty”According to a diplomatic spokesperson. “Last night’s attack is an audacious action and another strategic mistake by the Americans, which will only result in heightened tension and instability in the region”, Nasir Kanani responded in a press release. He did not say whether any Iranians were killed in the strike and did not hint at possible retaliation.
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“The occupation of parts of Syrian territory by US forces can no longer continue”Condemned Syria after strikes, confirmed “Resolve to liberate the entire Syrian territory from terrorism and occupation”. For its part, the Iraqi government a “Violation of Iraqi Sovereignty”. This strike creates fear “Devastating Consequences for the Security and Stability of Iraq and the Region”The Iraqi prime minister’s military spokesman said in a statement.
About 900 American troops are stationed in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition designed to fight the Islamic State group while the latter controls swaths of Syrian and Iraqi territory. The defeat of ISIS in Syria was declared in 2019 (and in Iraq in 2017), but the coalition remained in the country to fight jihadist cells, which continue to carry out attacks there.
Iraq will call the American charge d’affaires to Baghdad
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that it would call on the American charge d’affaires in Baghdad, David Berger. “Official Letter of Protest Against American Invasion Targeting Iraqi Military and Civilian Sites”.Specifying that the ambassador is currently absent from Baghdad.
Intense political pressure in the United States
The American military took action on the day its commander in chief, on the tarmac of the Dover Military Base (Delaware), paid tribute to the three soldiers killed. One by one, the American flag-draped coffins of Georgia state troopers William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ledon Sanders and Breona Alexandria Moffett were taken out of a military transport plane.
However, John Kirby asserted that there was no correlation between the time chosen to conduct the strike, which depended, among other factors, on weather conditions and the ritual of returning the remains. During the event, the 81-year-old president remained motionless, hand over his heart and his gaze fixed straight ahead, as bodies passed by. He was accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chief of Staff Charles Brown and other dignitaries. Families of three soldiers were also present away from the press. The ceremony, controlled to the millimetre, lasted about ten minutes, in the cold wind and silence, interrupted only by orders to the soldiers.
The Democrat, campaigning for a second term, faces intense pressure from his Republican opponents to respond strongly to Iran. Former President Donald Trump, the overwhelming favorite for his party’s nomination, has already gone on the offensive “weakness” From his Democratic opponent, American forces in the Middle East have suffered numerous attacks since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Joe Biden, however, reiterated that he does not want regional escalation or open conflict with Iran.
Since mid-October, more than 165 drone strikes and rocket attacks have targeted American forces deployed with the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, but no American service members were killed until Sunday’s attack in Jordan.
