B-52 bomber flies to Middle East amid attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – According to a report published Saturday in Air & Space Forces magazine, a U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber undertook a 32-hour mission, flying from Europe across the Middle East on July 25. That flight coincided with two assaults on U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria—one on July 25 and the other on July 26, as U.S. officials told the magazine.

The B-52 was part of a Bomber Task Force mission deployed to Romania. From Romania, it traveled over the Mediterranean Sea and entered the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations, where it flew over Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, before reaching the Gulf and then returning to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana the next day.

Air Forces Central (AFCENT) emphasized the mission's role in demonstrating "extensive options for fielding combat-ready forces to protect and defend the region from adversary aggression."

The operation focused on maritime firepower support and included coordination with USAF A-10s and KC-135 Stratotankers. The B-52 also rendezvoused with Qatari F-15QAs.

“These missions amplify the U.S.’s ability to integrate with coalition forces and regional partners, while demonstrating the strategic bomber fleet’s ability to operate anywhere with decisive impacts,” a U.S. official stated.

The problem is basically Iran. Iran has been exploiting the war between Israel and Hamas to mobilize its proxy forces in the region to attack the U.S. and its allies. Those proxy forces include militias operating in Iraq and Syria.

After October 7, when the war between Israel and Hamas began, there were over 150 attacks on facilities hosting coalition troops in Iraq and Syria. But the attacks produced no significant response from the Biden administration.

Only a drone attack on January 28 that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded 40 others at a base in Jordan near the border with Iraq, did the Biden administration finally take decisive action.

Six days later—in just 30 minutes—U.S. planes bombed 85 targets in Iraq and Syria associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC.)

That largely stopped the attacks. But they appear to have resumed with the most recent assaults.

Read More: Rockets Target Bases in Iraq, Syria, Hosting US Troops

Tehran is pressing Baghdad to end the U.S. military presence in Iraq, and the two most recent assaults on bases hosting U.S. troops coincided with military talks between Washington and Baghdad.

Read More: US, Iraq Hail Continued Security Cooperation, as Second Dialogue Session Ends

Thus, those attacks appear to have been a message to Baghdad from Tehran about pressing U.S. forces to leave.

But, on the other hand, the flight of the B-52 looks to have been another message—this time from Washington to Tehran.

Edited by Laurie Mylroie