SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Civilians among 16 dead in US strikes in Iraq: government
Baghdad, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2024
US strikes in the west of Iraq against armed pro-Iran groups killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and wounded 23, Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said on Saturday.

The strikes hit "locations in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, including areas where our security forces are stationed", Awadi said in a statement.

The United States carried out the strikes on Friday in retaliation for the killing of three US military personnel in a drone attack on a base close to Jordan's border with Syria and Iraq.

Washington blamed the unclaimed attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of pro-Iran fighters opposed to US support for Israel in Gaza.

Tehran has denied any links to the attack.

On Friday, a White House spokesperson said the United States had "warned the Iraqi government before the strikes".

But Baghdad denied there had been any coordination with Washington prior to the bombings.

Awadi accused the United States of "deception and distortion of facts" and called the suggestion "an unfounded claim crafted to mislead international public opinion and evade legal responsibility" for what he said was a breach of international law.

"This aggressive air strike will push the security situation in Iraq and the region to the brink of the abyss," the spokesman said.

Awadi condemned the use of Iraq's territory as a "battleground for settling scores" and repeated his government's call for the withdrawal of the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq.

The coalition had "deviated from its assigned tasks and granted mandate," he said, and was "endangering security and stability in Iraq".

There are roughly 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group -- the year the jihadist group overran around a third of Iraq.

Since mid-October, there have been more than 165 drone and rocket attacks against coalition troops in Iraq and Syria, with most being claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Detection of ancient water ice suggests interstellar origins predating the Sun
Missing Matter in Universe Found
What if the Big Bang wasn't the beginning? Our research suggests it may have taken place inside a black hole

24/7 Energy News Coverage
World Bank lifts ban on nuclear energy financing
Waymo leads autonomous taxi race in the US
MXene infused printed nanogenerator advances ecofriendly wearable energy systems

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Israel, Iran exchange more deadly airstrikes on fifth day of conflict
Amid Israel-Iran war, Nimitz aircraft carrier to join Vinson in Middle East
B61-13 gravity bomb reaches first production milestone ahead of projected timeline

24/7 News Coverage
China expands disaster monitoring with launch of Zhangheng 1B satellite
Heat tolerant crops achievable but require long timelines and major investment
S.African president blames climate change for 'catastrophic' floods



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.