IRIA News

The United States military conducted a wave of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria targeting more than 85 different locations. The airstrikes, denounced by Iraq and Syria, were claimed to be conducted against Iranian-linked militant groups in the region responsible for attacking the U.S. military base in Jordan and killing three U.S. servicemen.

The Iraqi government announced that at least 16 people, including civilians, lost their lives in U.S. strikes, denouncing the “new aggression against” its sovereignty and cautioning of severe repercussions in the region. According to a government spokesperson, several civilians were among the casualties while 25 individuals sustained injuries in the attacks that struck both civilian and security zones.

Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Baghdad to deliver a formal protest. “This aggressive strike will put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss,” the Iraqi government said and denied Washington’s claims of coordinating the air attacks with Baghdad. It said such reports were “false” and “aimed at misleading international public opinion”.

The presence of the U.S.-led military coalition in the region “has become a reason for threatening security and stability in Iraq and a justification for involving Iraq in regional and international conflicts”, read the statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans. We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and… pic.twitter.com/Y53nvRfjjx

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 3, 2024

The Syrian Ministry of Defense also criticized the “aggression of the American occupation forces,” alleging that they aimed “to weaken the ability of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the field of fighting terrorism.” The Ministry also noted that the targeted areas were where the military is combating remnants of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

According to the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdulrahman, the U.S. airstrikes killed at least 23 people who were guarding the targeted locations in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, “This is the start of our response,” adding that “The president has directed additional actions to hold the IRGC and affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces.”

President Joe Biden said the strikes “will continue at times and places of our choosing”, as his chief diplomat Antony Blinken is preparing to embark on his fifth regional tour since October 7, visiting Israel, the occupied West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told journalists that the goal of the “multitiered” attacks was to stop attacks by Iran-aligned groups, and not to start a war with Iran.

Airstrikes

The U.S. military reported that it conducted airstrikes against 85 targets across seven separate facilities starting from February 2, 2024. These locations included sites linked to the guards’ Quds Force and Iranian-backed militia in the region.

The U.S. attacks marked the initial response in what U.S. President Joe Biden described as a series of retaliatory strikes following the drone attack on a base along the Jordan-Syrian border, resulting in the deaths of three American servicemen last month.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it deployed B-1 bombers to conduct the mission. Over 125 precision munition strikes were launched against dozens of targets.

According to CENTCOM, the targets included command and control operations centers, intelligence facilities, weapons storage, and supply chain facilities belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the armed groups supported by Tehran.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told journalists that the goal of the “multitiered” attacks was to stop attacks by Iran-aligned groups, and not to start a war with Iran.

Iran’s reaction

Despite blaming Tehran for orchestrating attacks against the U.S. military personnel, none of the U.S. airstrikes took place inside Iranian territories. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled the airstrikes as “another adventurous action and another strategic error by the U.S. government,” to escalate the security crisis and to intensify instability in the region.

The Iranian ministry said tensions in the region “go back to the occupation by the Israeli regime and [its] military operations in Gaza and the genocide of the Palestinians with the unlimited support of the U.S.”, adding that stability would only return by resolving “the root cause of the crisis.”

Background

Three U.S. Army troops were killed while more than 30 service members were injured during a drone attack on a small American military outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border on January 28, 2024.

Washington immediately linked Iranian-backed military groups with the attack vowing to take retaliatory actions. It took U.S. forces nearly one week to prepare and execute the retaliatory attacks in Iraq and Syria.

The recent military actions in the region have poised concerns about an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Following the outbreak of war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in 1,200 casualties, Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza has led to the deaths of over 26,000 Palestinians, as reported by the local health ministry.

Since Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. military bases and outposts in the Middle East have been attacked more than 150 times on different occasions. Adding to the complexity, U.S. warships have been targeted by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, who regularly launch attacks on commercial ships navigating the Red Sea waters off Yemen’s coast. The region remains fraught with tensions and security challenges.