Washington: The US carried out an airstrike in Syria on Thursday. Two officials told Reuters that Iraq was a reaction to rocket attacks against US bases. It was told that the US has carried out this airstrike on the basis of Iran-backed militia. Officials said on condition of anonymity that this airstrike was approved by President Joe Biden. According to the news agency Reuters, so far the Pentagon has not given any answer on this matter.
An official said the airstrike was carried out in response to the recent rocket attacks in Iraq. Till the time of writing the news, information about the loss and any American casualties could not be found. In the past few years, counter-US military strikes have occurred several times.
Also consulted with colleagues – Pentagon
Since late 2019, US forces have launched major attacks against the Qatib Hezbollah militia group in Iraq and Syria in response to rocket attacks. After the airstrike, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said “I am convinced that the base where the attack took place was being used by Shia militants who carried out the attack”.
Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the US action was a ‘military response’ which was also consulted with allies in keeping with diplomatic measures. At the same time, Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell at Notre Dame Law School criticized the US attack as a violation of international law.
In Iraq, the US has limited it to 2,500 personnel. Now they are not taking part in war campaigns with Iraqi forces in the ongoing operations against the Islamic State group. Significantly, the Shia militant group, which called itself Sarya Awliya al-Dum, claimed responsibility for the February 15 attack. A week later, a rocket attack in the Green Zone of Baghdad was targeted at the US Embassy compound but no one was hurt.
