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Jun 28, 2021 · President Joe Biden directed military forces to conduct defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region on June 27, according ...
- Overview
- ‘Somewhere in the middle’
ERBIL, Iraq — The dozens of airstrikes launched by the United States late Friday are by far its biggest attacks against Iran-backed militants in the Middle East during this current round of conflict.
However the strikes in Iraq and Syria, an initial retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers, did not go as far as some more hawkish figures had hoped, as the White House tries to avoid an all-out war with Iran. Some regional watchers have warned that this apparent restraint — including telegraphing the attacks well in advance — may mean the militias feel emboldened to continue their violence against American forces in the region.
The bombings drew an angry reaction from Iraq itself, which summoned the U.S. envoy in protest and said the strikes on its soil had killed civilians and risked destabilizing the region. Syria said the U.S. was fueling regional conflict in “a very dangerous way.” Iranian officials have been similarly hostile, and Tehran, though also reluctant to see a wider war, has warned American strikes would not go unanswered.
“What you saw last night and what you are going to see again was not insignificant,” a senior Biden administration official told NBC News. “When you hit 85 targets over 30 minutes, that sends a strong signal about the capability that we have,” the official said, adding that “there are other things we’re going to do. Some you will see and some you won’t see.”
The past 24 hours, in which U.S. fighter jets also hit Houthi rebel drones in Yemen and Israel was suspected of killing an Iranian military adviser in Syria, will do little to tamp down rising tensions across the Middle East. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, described the situation Saturday as “a boiler that can explode.”
“This is by far the most expansive military action we’ve taken against Iran’s proxies in Syria and Iraq to date — that makes this a significant development by itself,” said Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Washington’s oldest think tank focusing on the region.
“In terms of measuring this by how maximalist or minimalist we could have been, this sits somewhere in the middle, not a major campaign by any means, but a notable one that if followed by more could begin to send a deterrent message,” Lister told NBC News.
“But for now, I’d count on the militias feeling relatively confident that they’ll be targeting Americans again not too long from now,” he said.
The U.S. strikes are the latest salvo in the simmering, Middle East-wide unrest that has threatened to boil over since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed, and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 27,000 people.
A network of militant groups backed by Iran — the self-styled “Axis of Resistance” — has been launching attacks against Israel, the U.S. and international shipping, which the militants say is a protest against Israel’s war and in support of the Palestinians. As part of this so-called axis, powerful Iran-backed militants have stepped up attacks against American forces across the Middle East, stationed there following the Syrian civil war and the military campaign against ISIS.
Feb 26, 2021 · World Feb 26, 2021 12:32 PM EDT. BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one fighter and wounding several ...
Nov 12, 2023 · The Defense Department released a video of a Nov. 8 airstrike on what it said was a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria linked to Iran-backed militias.
Part of the attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (2023–2024) and spillover of the Israel–Hamas war. Date. 2–7 February 2024. (5 days) Location. Iraq and Syria. Result. United States victory. US conducts 125 airstrikes targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied militias.
- 2-7 February 2024(5 days)
- Iraq and Syria
The U.S. has carried out a second strike in two weeks on Iran-linked facilities in retaliation for continuing attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a ...
- 4 min
