US strikes against militias ‘violate’ Iraqi sovereignty, says military spokesperson

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The US airstrikes on Friday night against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the affiliated militia forces in Iraq and Syria constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, a military spokesperson said.

The US Central Command on early Saturday announced that its fighter jets had struck at least three sites in western Iraq and four others in Syria in retaliation for last week's deadly drone strike on US troops based in Jordan, which was blamed on Kataib Hizbullah, an Iraqi militia force backed by Iran.

“These strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” Yehia Rasool, the military spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia’ Al-Sudani said in a statement following the attack.

The Iranian-backed militias based in Iraq have launched more than 160 drone and missile strikes against Coalition against ISIS troops in Iraq and Syria since late October. Despite condemnations and slamming the attacks on international troops, Baghdad has failed to rein in the militias that it is part of the Iraqi security apparatus, say analysts. 

The spokesperson said the attack would drag Iraq and the region into “unforeseen consequences,” without elaborating further.

The Friday strikes are part of an anticipated air campaign that is set to be launched against the IRGC and its affiliated forces in the coming weeks, per US officials.

Following the retaliatory strikes, Biden issued a statement in which he affirmed, “Our response” to the attacks “began today,” and “it will continue at times and places of our choosing.”

That statement was repeatedly echoed by John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, who briefed reporters, alongside Sims, later that day.

Kirby also provided the strongest expression of any Biden administration official in explaining the administration’s objective in the retaliatory strikes that had just occurred.

“We want the attacks to stop,” Kirby said. “We want them to stop right now.”

Read More: U.S. Says Attacks ‘Must Stop Right Now,’ as it Strikes IRGC, Militias in Iraq, Syria

Kataib Hizbullah has recently suspended all of its military operations against US forces. The US wants to see actions, a Pentagon spokesperson said.