As published by Euro Weekly by
The Pentagon has confirmed that President Joe Biden, on Thursday evening (February 25), authorised airstrikes by the US military to target Iranian-backed militias along Iraq’s border with eastern Syria, in retaliation for recent rocket strikes in Erbil, northern Iraq, on February 15, that left several Americans injured.
The airstrikes, at 6pm ET, were reportedly directed at structures in the eastern Syrian town of Al Bukamal, with Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, issuing a statement on Thursday evening in which he said, “At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria”.
Kirby continued, “These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and coalition personnel in Iraq and to ongoing threats to those personnel. Specifically, the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kait’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kait’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS)”.
“This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with Coalition partners”, he added, “The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq”.
