[pjw] NEWS: US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria kill 4 militia, injure 4 civilians

[Peace and Justice Works]

Iraq Affinity Group supporters

I guess it couldn't go on forever that the US would stop bombing Iraq and 
Syria while ineffective drone strikes were attacking US bases in Iraq. 
It never ceases to astound me that the logic here is circular-- America 
invades a country and sets up shop there, then people attack the unlawful 
invaders and the US claims a right to "self defense."

As noted in the subject line, this article eventually reveals that four 
people were killed (according to a militia group) and four civilians-- 
including a child-- were injured.

Not that it matters since the US shouldn't be killing anyone in the name 
of world peace.

dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-forces-launch-airstrikes-against-iran-backed-militias-n1272489
U.S. launches airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria
    The action was a response to drone attacks on American personnel and
    facilities in Iraq, an official said.
    June 28, 2021, 12:25 AM UTC / Updated June 28, 2021, 10:50 AM UTC
    By [64]Tim Stelloh, Courtney Kube and [65]Saphora Smith

    The U.S. military carried out what a Pentagon official called
    "defensive" airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday against Iran-backed
    militia groups that were behind drone attacks on American personnel.

    Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the
    airstrikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two
    locations in Syria and one in Iraq. The facilities were used by at
    least two militias, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, he
    said.

    The 14th brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group
    for a number of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, said four of its fighters
    were killed in the attack. The brigade is made up of Kata'ib Sayyid
    al-Shuhada members.

    Jessica McNulty, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said each strike hit its
    intended target. But the operation's effect remained unclear.

    There have been five drone attacks since April, she said. She added
    that rocket strikes are "ongoing."

    Kirby said that President Joe Biden, who authorized the strikes,
    "directed further military action to disrupt and deter" attacks on U.S.
    facilities and personnel in Iraq.

    "We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the
    sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to
    defeat ISIS," he said. "The United States took necessary, appropriate,
    and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation - but
    also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message."

    The Syrian state news agency, SANA, reported that a child and three
    other civilians were injured, but that has not been independently
    confirmed by NBC News.

    Iraq's military released a rare statement condemning the attacks Monday
    morning.

    "We condemn the U.S. air attack that targeted a site on the
    Iraqi-Syrian border last night, which represents a blatant and
    unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and national security in
    accordance with all international conventions," a spokesperson for the
    commander in chief of Iraq's armed forces said.

    "Iraq renews its refusal to be an arena for settling accounts, and
    clings to its right to sovereignty over its lands, and prevents it from
    being used as an arena for reactions and attacks."

    Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the United
    States was "taking the wrong path" in the region and was continuing the
    "failed legacy" of the previous administration.

    "Instead of emotional actions and creating tensions and problems in the
    region, the U.S. should change its behavior and let the regional people
    establish security without Washington's interference," he said during a
    weekly news conference.

    The airstrikes come as the Biden administration [66]considers lifting
    sanctions on Iran in an effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which
    was negotiated under the Obama administration and sought to blunt
    Tehran's uranium enrichment capacity.

    Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal three
    years ago, arguing it was slanted toward Iran. His administration also
    imposed damaging sanctions on the country.

    U.S. forces carried[67] out airstrikes earlier this year against the
    same Iran-backed militias that the Pentagon said were behind a rocket
    attack in northern Iraq. The rocket attack killed a Filipino contractor
    working with an American-led military coalition and injured six people,
    including a Louisiana National Guard soldier and four American
    contractors.