Syria: US fighter jets bomb Iran-backed militia facilities

United States Air Force fighter jets bombed facilities in Syria belonging to Iranian-backed militias on Thursday, in response to a series of recent attacks on US diplomatic delegations in Iraq, according to the Defense Ministry quoted by the agency AP.

“Under President (Joe) Biden’s leadership, US military forces carried out airstrikes earlier this evening against infrastructure used by Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria,” the spokesperson said. John Kirby said in a press release.

“This offensive was authorized in response to recent attacks on US and coalition personnel in Iraq., and the continuing threats to these personnel, ”he added.

It is the first military action ordered by President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20 to replace Donald Trump. Biden had declared his intention to put the focus of US foreign policy on China, although that first move took place in the Middle East.

The Pentagon said it was a “proportional” response to the recent wave of rocket attacks on US bases and diplomatic delegations in Iraq, which killed a contractor and injured a US soldier.

U.S. government officials condemned the February 15 rocket attack near the town of Irbil in the Kurdish-ruled semi-autonomous region of Iraq.But even this week, officials said they had not determined with certainty who executed him. Officials pointed out that Iranian-backed Shiite militias have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks targeting US personnel or facilities in Iraq in the past.

On Monday, several rockets were launched towards the American embassy in the green high security zone of Baghdad, The Iraqi capital, according to local security sources. The attacks in the Arab capital are linked to Iranian militias.

At least two were within the perimeter of the green zone, where are the embassies of the United States and other countries, according to a statement of the Iraqi security services.

The attack comes a week after more than a dozen rockets targeted a military compound at Erbil Airport in northern Iraq, which houses foreign troops from a US-led coalition helping Iraq fight terrorists in Iraq since 2014.

Two people died, including an airport-based foreign contractor and a civilian, who died of his injuries on Monday.

Last week, the United States did not rule out responding to a missile attack against the international coalition led by American forces, deployed in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan., once you have determined who is responsible.

The attack left a civilian contractor dead and at least nine injured, including a US soldier, after up to fourteen rockets were fired at the troops, three of which hit the Erbil International Airport, where the troops are based. US forces, the anti-terrorist coalition.

“The President of the United States (Joe Biden) and the Administration reserve the right to respond when and in any way”, said the spokeswoman for the White House, Jen psaki, during his daily press conference.

Western military and diplomatic installations have been targeted by dozens of rockets in Iraq since late 2019, most of them in Baghdad. However, Iranian missiles were fired at Erbil airport in January 2020, days after Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed by an American drone strike in Baghdad, an attack that raised fears of a direct war between Iran and the United States.

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