US carries out retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria

These shots come after the death of three American soldiers killed in Jordan, in an attack attributed by Washington to groups supported by Iran.

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US President Joe Biden attends the return of the bodies of three US soldiers killed in Jordan, at Dover Air Force Base (Delaware), February 2, 2024. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

After the death of three American soldiers killed in Jordan, theThe United States carried out retaliatory strikes on Friday February 2 targeting elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria. The American president had promised to respond to the drone attack carried out on Sunday near the Syrian border and attributed by Washington to groups supported by Iran.

The US Middle East Command said in a statement that these strikes had targeted more than 85 sites, including command and intelligence centers, as well as drone and missile storage infrastructure. In Syria, “at least 18 pro-Iranian fighters were killed” during these airstrikes, including five in Deir Ezzor, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A military spokesperson for the Iraqi Prime Minister, for his part, castigated a “violation of [la] sovereignty” of country. These strikes are “a threat that will drag down Iraq and the region” towards an undesirable situation “with disastrous consequences for the security and stability of Iraq and the region”, he added.

“If you touch an American, we will respond,” warns Joe Biden

“Our response began today. It will continue according to the schedule and in the places we decide,” Joe Biden 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”also declared the American president in a statement, after witnessing the return of the bodies of three American soldiers killed in Jordan.

“It is very possible that you are seeing a graduated response, not a single action but potentially multiple actions”White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby assured Wednesday. Iran has denied being behind this attack which caused the first deaths of American soldiers since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.


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