On Friday, February 2, the United States carried out retaliatory strikes targeting personnel from the Al-Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria, in at the same time as the remains of three American soldiers, killed in Jordan, were repatriated to the United States, announced the American military command for the Middle East (Centcom). The intervention, which lasted approximately thirty minutes, was ” a success “the White House said.
At least twenty-three pro-Iranian fighters, including five in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, were killed in airstrikes on eastern Syria and western Iraq, the Syrian Observatory reported of Human Rights (OSDH). In Iraq, 16 people, including civilians, were killed and 25 injured, according to an official report announced by the Iraqi government.
Joe Biden had promised to respond to the deadly drone attack carried out on Sunday January 28 near the Syrian border, attributed by Washington to groups supported by Iran. “Our response began today. It will continue according to the schedule and in the places that we decide”the president said on Friday. “The United States does not want conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let those who want to harm us know this well: if you touch an American, we will respond”he declared in a press release, a few hours after witnessing the return of the bodies of the three American soldiers killed.
The American executive had indicated that the reprisals would be multiple and spread over time, against different targets.
Eighty-five targeted sites
The White House assured that the United States had “warned the Iraqi government before the strikes”.
The strikes “involved more than 125 precision munitions”Centcom said in its press release, specifying that they had targeted more than 85 targets on seven different sites (three in Iraq and four in Syria), including command and intelligence centers, as well as storage infrastructures of drones and missiles belonging to Iranian militias and forces “who enabled attacks on US and coalition forces”, including that of Sunday. The Pentagon said Friday’s strikes mobilized numerous combat aircraft, including long-range bombers.
“An HQ of armed factions in the Al-Qaim area was targeted, it is a small arms warehouse, according to preliminary information”, an official at the Iraqi Interior Ministry told Agence France-Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity. An official from Hachd Al-Chaabi, a coalition of former paramilitaries bringing together these pro-Iran factions, confirmed this strike and another bombing targeting a position in the Al-Akachat region, further south.
Iran condemns “strongly”; Syria denounces American “occupation”
Iran has “forcefully condemned” the strikes carried out, denouncing “a violation of the sovereignty of Syria and Iraq”according to the diplomatic spokesperson. “Last night’s attack is an adventurous action and another strategic mistake by the Americans, which will only result in intensifying tensions and instability in the region”, reacted Nasser Kanani in a press release. He did not say whether any Iranians had been killed in the strikes and did not hint at possible reprisals.
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“The occupation of certain parts of Syrian territory by American forces can no longer continue”denounced Syria after the strikes, affirming its “determination to liberate the entire Syrian territory from terrorism and occupation”. For its part, the Iraqi government castigated a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty”. These strikes raise fears of “disastrous consequences for the security and stability of Iraq and the region”said a military spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister in a statement.
Some 900 American soldiers are deployed in Syria, and 2,500 in Iraq, as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition created to fight the Islamic State group when the latter controlled entire swaths of Syrian and Iraqi territory. The defeat of ISIS in Syria was declared in 2019 (and in Iraq in 2017), but the coalition remained in the country to fight against jihadist cells, which continue to carry out attacks there.
Iraq to summon American charge d’affaires to Baghdad
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that it would summon the American charge d’affaires in Baghdad, David Burger, to give him a “official letter of protest against American aggression targeting Iraqi military and civilian sites”specifying that the ambassador is currently absent from Baghdad.
Intense political pressure in the United States
The American army took action the day its commander in chief, on the tarmac of the Dover military base (Delaware), paid tribute to the three soldiers killed. the coffins, covered with the American flag, of William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, soldiers from the American state of Georgia, were taken out one by one from an imposing military transport plane.
John Kirby, however, assured that there was no link between the timing chosen to carry out the strikes, which depended, among other factors, on weather conditions, and the ceremony for the return of the remains. During the event, the 81-year-old president remained motionless, his hand on his heart and his gaze fixed straight ahead, as the bodies passed by. He was accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chief of Staff Charles Brown and other dignitaries. The families of the three soldiers, away from the press, were also present. The ceremony, regulated to the millimeter, lasted around ten minutes, in the cold wind and silence, only interrupted by orders intended for the soldiers.
The Democrat, campaigning for a second term, faces intense pressure from his Republican opponents to respond strongly to Iran. Former President Donald Trump, the big favorite for his party’s nomination, has already attacked the ” weakness “ from his Democratic opponent, while American forces in the Middle East have suffered numerous attacks since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Joe Biden, however, repeats that he does not want regional escalation or open conflict with Iran.
Since mid-October, more than 165 drone strikes and rocket attacks have targeted American forces deployed with an international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, but no American service member had been killed until the attack on Sunday in Jordan.