BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi militia official on Saturday hinted at a desire to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East following retaliatory strikes launched by the United States against dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesperson for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, in an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad condemned the U.S. strikes, saying Washington “must understand that every action elicits a reaction.” But he then struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that “we do not wish to escalate or widen regional tensions.”
Mossawi said the targeted sites in Iraq were mainly “devoid of fighters and military personnel at the time of the attack.” Suggesting there was not too much damage could allow him to justify the lack of a strong response.
Syrian state media reported that there were casualties from the strikes but did not give a number. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 23 people were killed in the Syria strikes, all rank-and-file fighters.
Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said in a statement Saturday that the strikes in Iraq near the Syrian border killed 16, including civilians, and there was “significant damage” to homes and private properties.
A U.S. official said Saturday that an initial battle damage assessment showed the U.S. had struck each of its planned targets in addition to a few “dynamic targets” that popped up as the mission unfolded, including a surface to air missile site and drone launch sites. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that were not yet public, did not yet have a casualty assessment.
Iraq’s foreign ministry announced Saturday it would summon the U.S. embassy’s chargé d’affaires — the ambassador being outside of the country — to deliver a formal protest over U.S. strikes on “Iraqi military and civilian sites.”
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet service members before boarding Air Force One after attending a casualty return for Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga., Sgt. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga., and Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga., at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The three were killed in a drone attack in Jordan on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The air assault was the opening salvo of U.S. retaliation for a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend. The U.S. has blamed that on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias.
Iran, meanwhile, has attempted to distance itself from the attack, saying that the militias act independently of its direction.
Iraqi spokesperson al-Awadi condemned the strikes as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, particularly since some of them targeted facilities of the Population Mobilization Forces. The PMF, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, was officially brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi armed forces after it joined the fight against the Islamic State in 2014, but in practice it continues to operate largely outside of state control.
The Popular Mobilization Forces said in a statement Saturday that one of the sites targeted was an official security headquarters of the group. In addition to 16 killed, it said 36 had been wounded, “while the search is still ongoing for the bodies of a number of the missing.”
An Army carry team loads the transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga., to a vehicle along with the remains of Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga., and Sgt. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga., at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The three were killed in a drone attack in Jordan on Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Iraqi government has been in a delicate position since a group of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias calling itself Islamic Resistance in Iraq — many of whose members are also part of the PMF — began launching attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria on Oct. 18. The group described the strikes as retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
Iraqi officials have attempted behind the scenes to rein the militias in, while also condemning U.S. retaliatory strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and calling for an exit of the 2,500 U.S. troops in the country as part of an international coalition to fight IS. Last month, Iraqi and U.S. military officials launched formal talks to wind down the coalition’s presence, a process that will likely take years.
One of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops following Sunday’s strike that killed the U.S. troops in Jordan, to avoid “embarrassing” the Iraqi government.
___
Associated Press writers Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.