US strikes pro-Iran militias in Iraq, Syria

Washington has carried out these strikes in response to dozens of drone attacks against US interests in Iraq since the start of the year.

A response to drone attacks against their interests in Iraq . The United States struck Iranian-backed militias on the Iraqi-Syrian border on Sunday, June 27, killing at least five pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). “On the orders of President Biden,” the Americans carried out “precision defensive airstrikes ,  Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. Civilians were however affected, according to the official Syrian agency Sana: a child was killed and at least three people were injured. 

The strikes targeted operational centers and weapons depots located in two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. This is the second such operation carried out by the United States against pro-Iranian militias in Syria, since President Joe Biden came to power in January. A strike in eastern Syria in February killed more than 20 fighters, according to OSDH.

Over 40 attacks targeting US interests in Iraq

“The targets were selected because these facilities are used by Iranian-backed militias who are involved in attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against US personnel and installations in Iraq,” said the spokesperson for the Pentagon.

US interests in Iraq have been the target of repeated attacks in recent months. The United States systematically accuses pro-Iran factions of being responsible. Since the beginning of the year, more than forty attacks have targeted the interests of the United States in the country, where 2,500 American soldiers are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight against the jihadist organization Islamic State.

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