Beijing, 27 Dec (Xinhua) -- Iraq condemned the US military's attack on military targets in Iraq on 26 December for violating Iraq's sovereignty. As a result of the airstrike, at least one person was killed and 18 were injured.
In the early morning of the 26th, the US military launched strikes on three facilities in Iraq. The United States believes that the three facilities are home to the Iranian-backed armed group "Allah Brigade" and its affiliates.
Security personnel are on duty at a checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 30, 2022. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Khalil Daoud) Iraq** said that a US airstrike killed an Iraqi soldier and injured 18 people, including civilians. "This constitutes a clear ...... of hostilitiesIt is an unacceptable violation of Iraq's sovereignty. ”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the airstrike, ordered by U.S. **Joseph Biden, was a response to a recent series of attacks by Iranian-backed militant groups against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, including the attack on Iraq's Erbil airbase on the 25th.
Adriana Watson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Commission, said that the attack on Erbil Air Base was carried out by drones, wounding three U.S. troops, one of whom was in serious condition;The Iraqi military facilities that the US military struck this time were specifically used by relevant armed groups to launch drone attacks.
Security personnel are on duty at a checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 30, 2022. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Khalil Daoud) Iraq's militia "Islamic Resistance Group" announced that it had carried out an attack on the Erbil air base. According to AFP, both the armed forces and the "Allah Brigades" are affiliated with the "Popular Mobilization Organization", which has been integrated into the regular Iraqi armed forces.
According to US military statistics, US military bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria have been attacked 103 times since large-scale clashes broke out between the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel in early October. Iraqi militia Islamist Resistance Group claimed to have been responsible for most of the attacks, citing U.S. support for Israel.
The United States currently has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and about 900 in Syria. The U.S.** claims that the purpose of the military presence is to provide advice and assistance to the local military to prevent the resurgence of the extremist group Islamic State. (Guo Qian).