U.S. Strikes Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq-Syria Border Area

By RFE/RL June 27, 2021

The U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militias in the Iraq-Syria border area, in retaliation for drone attacks by the groups against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.

The Pentagon said on June 27 that President Joe Biden ordered the air strikes on operational and weapons storage facilities used by the militias at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq.

It said several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata’ib Hizballah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, used the facilities.

“As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel,” the Pentagon said.

“Given the ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, the president directed further military action to disrupt and deter such attacks.”

The air strikes come after Iraqi Kurdish officials said on June 26 that four explosive-laden drones hit locations outside the semi-autonomous region’s capital, Arbil. No casualties were reported.

The same day, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary alliance opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq, held a military parade near Baghdad attended by senior officials, including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The PMF is a state-sanctioned umbrella organization of mostly Shiite militias backed by Iran that was originally formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State extremist group.

Critics say the militias have established a parallel power structure with allies in parliament and government, including in the security field.

The air strikes on June 27 were the second in the region ordered by Biden since he took office six months ago.

In February, the U.S. military launched air strikes against facilities used by the same Iran-backed militia groups on the Iraq-Syria border.

Those air strikes were in response to what the U.S. military said at the time was rocket attacks that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.

The United States blames Iran-backed militia for repeated rocket attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and at Iraqi bases housing some 2,500 U.S. troops as part of an international mission against the Islamic State.

In April, an explosive-laden drone hit the coalition’s Iraq headquarters in the military section of Arbil airport.

General Kenneth Mckenzie, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, has identified small drones as a major concern in the region because they can more easily evade air defenses.

Under former U.S. President Donald Trump, tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated in January 2020 when a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Kata’ib Hizballah and deputy chief of the PMU.

The death of the two commanders led to growing calls from Iraqi militia groups and allied political parties to expel U.S. forces from Iraq.

A rocket attack blamed on Kata’ib Hizballah in December 2019 killed a U.S. defense contractor and wounded several U.S. and Iraqi soldiers at a military base in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, touching off a cycle of escalation that led to Soleimani’s killing and Iran launching retaliatory ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-strike -iran-militia-iraq-syria/31328792.html

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