Iraq to summon US chargé d'affaires over recent American strikes on pro‑Iranian targets
8:53 AM EST, February 3, 2024, updated: 4:24 AM EST, March 7, 2024
"In protest against the American aggression that targeted Iraqi military and civilian sites, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the chargé d'affaires of the American embassy, David Burger," stated a press release from the Iraqi diplomacy. The release explained that the American representative is currently absent in Baghdad.
US retaliatory attacks
On Friday, the United States announced that it had "successfully" executed retaliatory attacks, targeting elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria. "The intervention lasted about thirty minutes and concluded successfully," reported the White House.
Washington mentioned that the target was a total of 85 sites in seven different locations in Syria and Iraq. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 23 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in eastern Syria. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government reported a death toll of 16 people, including civilians.
This American strike is the initial wave of bombings in retaliation for the Iran-backed militias attack on the Tower 22 base in Jordan, which resulted in the deaths of three US soldiers, and left at least 40 others wounded. The attack took place just hours after the slain soldiers' bodies had arrived back home.
US President Joe Biden has stated that the retaliatory attacks will continue.
