The Pentagon confirmed airstrikes against Iranian-backed Shiite militias along the Syrian-Iraqi border on Thursday evening, after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced that those responsible for last week’s rocket attack against the US base near Erbil, Iraq had been identified. According to a Defense Department press release, several targets were struck in the Syrian border town of al-Bukamal, including a structure at a border checkpoint which was used to transport the same rockets fired at US troop installations near Erbil and Baghdad last week. Several Telegram channels managed by Iranian militia sympathizers have reported casualties as a result of the strike.
Analysts have been divided over whether US President Biden’s administration would respond to the recent spate of rocket attacks in Iraq. Thursday’s retaliatory strikes targeted a border crossing which has been struck by the Israeli military dozens of times in the past three years. Al-Bukamal is regarded as a main hub of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s “Shi’a Crescent,” which stretches from the Iranian capital of Tehran to the borders of Israel.
We ask the global Maranatha family to continue to pray for the people of Kurdistan, Syria and Iraq, as FAI field teams continue to minister to the harassed and helpless in both nations, who are increasingly pressured between Sunni and Shi’a extremists on every side.
Maranatha
Sources:
Biden Orders Airstrikes in Syria Targeting Iran-Backed Militias - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
U.S. Launches Military Airstrikes Against Iranian-Backed Militants In Syria : NPR