Baghdad, Iraq – The United States launched retaliatory strikes against Iran-linked militants in Iraq and Syria following the killing of three U.S. soldiers. The aim was to respond to the attack while avoiding an escalation of regional conflict.
According to the Iraqi government, militia groups, and a local monitoring network, the first round of U.S. strikes resulted in the deaths of dozens of fighters and several civilians. The Iraqi government also reported that 16 fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces were killed in a U.S. strike on a command center in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.
Washington has linked Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed faction within the PMF, to the drone attack that killed the three U.S. reservists at a remote outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border. In response, the U.S. deployed B-1 bombers to carry out strikes on 85 targets in a multiday campaign at regional targets linked to Iran.
While the U.S. described the operation as a carefully calibrated military response aimed at deterring further attacks on U.S. interests in the region, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the strikes as a “strategic mistake” that contributes to “tension and instability” in the region.
As tensions escalate, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a PMF offshoot, claimed to have carried out an attack on U.S. troops in the city of Irbil in response to the U.S. strikes. Despite the halt in attacks on U.S. forces announced by Kataib Hezbollah, other militias have stated their intention to continue their actions.
The overnight strikes also targeted 26 Iran-linked sites in Syria, resulting in the deaths of 18 militants, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This led to condemnation from the Syrian Foreign Ministry, which said the strikes “fuel conflict” in the Middle East.
The situation remains tense as both the United States and Iran have signaled their desire to avoid further conflict. However, with Iranian proxies escalating attacks on the U.S., the region is on edge as the cycle of violence continues.