2021-02-26 16:13:11
The president chose the "middle" option from a broad range of military options, according to a senior defense official. During the operation, U.S. fighter jets dropped seven 500lb precision bombs on seven targets, the person said. All bombs hit their targets, a crossing used by the militia groups to move weapons and other goods across the border. Officials expect minimal casualties.
The targets were chosen based on their affiliation with the militia groups officials believed executed the attacks in Iraq, the official said.
The airstrikes were designed to damage the militia group's ability to conduct future attacks, a second defense official told POLITICO. The U.S. military alone carried out the operation, without the aid of allies.
However, Kirby said the U.S. conducted the strike "together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with Coalition partners."
"The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel," Kirby said. "At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.”
The retaliatory strike comes more than a week after a dozen rockets believed to be linked to an Iran-backed militia group targeted coalition forces outside Irbil International Airport, killing one non-U.S. contractor and wounding nine more people, including five Americans.
Then on Saturday, at least four rockets struck Balad Air Base, which houses American contractors who provide support to Iraq's fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, wounding one person.
And on Monday, two rockets fell near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, inside the Green Zone. No injuries or casualties were reported.
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