US troops in jap Syria attacked after airstrikes on militias; no casualties reported

US troops in jap Syria got here beneath rocket assault on Monday, with no reported casualties, sooner or later after US Air Force planes carried out airstrikes close to the Iraq-Syria border in opposition to what the Pentagon mentioned have been services utilized by Iran-backed militia teams to help drone strikes inside Iraq.

Iraq’s army condemned the US airstrikes, and the militia teams referred to as for revenge in opposition to the United States.Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby mentioned the militias have been utilizing the services to launch unmanned aerial car assaults in opposition to US troops in Iraq. It was the second time the administration has taken army motion within the area since Biden took over earlier this yr.READ: US slicing troops, air protection items deployed in Middle EastThere was no indication that Sunday’s assaults have been meant as the beginning of a wider, sustained US air marketing campaign within the border area. But a spokesman for the US army mission primarily based in Baghdad, Col. Wayne Marotto, wrote on Twitter Monday that at 7:44 p.m. native time “US forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets.” He mentioned there have been no accidents and that assault harm was being assessed.Marotto later tweeted that whereas beneath rocket assault, US forces in Syria responded in self-defense with artillery fireplace on the rocket-launching positions.Kirby mentioned the US army focused three operational and weapons storage services — two in Syria and one in Iraq. In its launch of movies of the strikes by Air Force F-15 and F-16 plane, the Pentagon described one goal as a coordination heart for the cargo and switch of superior typical weapons.Kirby mentioned the airstrikes have been “defensive,” saying they have been launched in response to the assaults by militias.“The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation — but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message,” Kirby mentioned.The Pentagon mentioned the services have been utilized by Iran-backed militia factions, together with Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.A Pentagon spokeswoman, Navy Cmdr. Jessica McNulty, mentioned Monday that every strike hit its meant goal and that the US army was nonetheless assessing the outcomes of the operation.“The targets selected were facilities utilized by the network of Iran-backed militia groups responsible for the series of recent attacks against facilities housing US personnel in Iraq,” McNulty mentioned. She mentioned these teams have performed not less than 5 such “one-way” drone assaults since April.ALSO READ: Pakistan permits overflight to US army to help presence in Afghan: Pentagon officialSecretary of State Antony Blinken, chatting with reporters in Rome on Monday, mentioned Biden has been clear that the US will act to guard American personnel.“This action in self-defense to do what’s necessary to do to prevent further attacks, I think sends a very important and strong message. And I hope very much that it is received,” he mentioned. “I think we’ve demonstrated with the actions taken last night and actions taken previously, that the president is fully prepared to act and act appropriately and deliberately to protect us.“Two Iraqi militia officials told The Associated Press in Baghdad that four militiamen were killed in the airstrikes near the border with Syria. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give statements. They said the first strike hit a weapons storage facility inside Syrian territory, where the militiamen were killed. The second strike hit the border strip.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that closely monitors the Syrian conflict through activists on the ground, reported that at least seven Iraqi militiamen were killed in the airstrikes.The Iran-backed Iraqi militia factions vowed revenge for the attack and said in a joint statement they would continue to target US forces. “We … will avenge the blood of our righteous martyrs against the perpetrators of this heinous crime and with God’s help we will make the enemy taste the bitterness of revenge,” they mentioned.The Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi state-sanctioned umbrella of principally Shiite militias — together with these focused by the U.S. strikes — mentioned their males have been on missions to forestall infiltration by the Islamic State group and denied the presence of weapons warehouses.ALSO READ: US could enhance variety of troopers in Afghanistan earlier than troops’ withdrawal: PentagonIraq’s army condemned the strikes as a “blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and national security.” It referred to as for avoiding escalation, but in addition rejected that Iraq be an “arena for settling accounts” — a reference to the US and Iran. It represented uncommon condemnation by the Iraqi army of US airstrikes.In Iran, overseas ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh accused the US of making instability within the area. “Definitely, what the US is doing is disrupting the security of the region,” he mentioned on Monday.U.S. army officers have grown more and more alarmed over drone strikes concentrating on US army bases in Iraq, which have turn into extra frequent since a US-directed drone killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani close to the Baghdad airport final yr. Iraqi militia chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was additionally killed within the assault. The strike drew the ire of principally Shiite Iraqi lawmakers and prompted parliament to cross a nonbinding decision to strain the Iraqi authorities to oust overseas troops from the nation.Sunday’s strikes mark the second time the Biden administration launched airstrikes alongside the Iraq-Syria border area. In February, the US launched airstrikes in opposition to services in Syria, close to the Iraqi border, that it mentioned have been utilized by Iranian-backed militia teams.The Pentagon mentioned these strikes have been retaliation for a rocket assault in Iraq earlier that month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and different coalition troops.At that point, Biden mentioned Iran ought to view his resolution to authorize US airstrikes in Syria as a warning that it may count on penalties for its help of militia teams that threaten US pursuits or personnel.“You can’t act with impunity. Be careful,” Biden mentioned when a reporter requested what message he had meant to ship.ALSO READ: Iraq hosted rounds of talks between rivals Saudi Arabia, Iran: PresidentALSO READ: Sanctuaries in Pakistan contributed immensely to Taliban’s success: US Senator