Pro-Iranian militias have been attacking the US military in the Middle East for months. An attack on a base in Jordan left three US soldiers dead. Now the Americans are fighting back.
Washington – The US has responded to the deadly attack by pro-Iranian militias in Jordan with a comprehensive counterstrike on targets in Iraq and Syria. The US military said it fired on more than 85 targets from the air, including command centers, intelligence sites and weapons depots used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and militias affiliated with them, US regional command Centcom said on Friday (local time/Washington ) with. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 18 members of pro-Iranian militias were killed in the airstrikes.
US President Joe Biden immediately announced the prospect of further military action in the Middle East. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” he said in a written statement. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” he stressed. “But for all those who wish to harm us, know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”
Iraq sharply criticizes US attacks
Iraq has reacted with sharp criticism to the US military strikes in the country. The attacks violated Iraq's sovereignty, with unpredictable consequences, the spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces said in a televised statement on Saturday night.
The US attacks posed a threat “that will drag Iraq and the region into unpredictable consequences, and their consequences will be terrible for the security and stability in Iraq and the region,” the Iraqi military spokesman warned. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 13 members of pro-Iranian militias were killed in the airstrikes.
background
Last Sunday, three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack by pro-Iranian militias in Jordan near the Syrian border. Numerous other soldiers were injured. Biden blamed “radical, Iran-backed militant groups” for the attack and threatened retaliation. On Wednesday, the US government officially attributed the attack to a group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which had previously claimed responsibility for the attack.
The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” is a kind of umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, which have been operating together under this general name since the terrorist acts of the Islamist Hamas on October 7th in Israel. This includes the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah. It is one of the strongest militias in Iraq and is calling for the withdrawal of US troops from the country. Northeast Jordan, where the deadly attack on US soldiers occurred, borders both Syria and Iraq.
The bodies of the killed US soldiers were returned to the USA on Friday. Biden paid them his last respects at Dover Air Force Base in the state of Delaware – a short time later the counterattack began.
For the US President, the action against the militias is a tightrope act. On the one hand, he wants to avoid his country being drawn into a regional war in the Middle East. On the other hand, he wants to show strength and bring an end to the attacks. At the same time, he is under pressure in the USA – some Republicans are calling for more aggressive countermeasures to the attacks against the US military.
War between Israel and Hamas
Since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas began in October, pro-Iranian militias have carried out almost daily attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The US government responded with air strikes in both countries. In addition, the Yemeni Houthis – in solidarity with Hamas – repeatedly attack freighters in the Red Sea. In response, the US and Britain, with the support of allies, carried out military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The US air strikes have not yet deterred the militias from further attacks. Concerns about escalation are growing. dpa
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