The US Departments of State and Defense condemned the attack on a US base on Syrian soil from Iraqi territory, for which they blamed Iran.
“We certainly condemn the attack by a paramilitary organization close to Iran against US forces in Syria,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a regular briefing of accredited editors in Washington.
According to Mr. Miller, it is “disturbing” that the attack was launched hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Zia al-Sudani visited Washington. “It seems (…) that Iran does not respect Iraqi national sovereignty at all,” he said.
“We have made it clear to Iran, we have made it very clear to the organizations close to Iran, that we will defend our interests, we will defend our personnel, and that continues to be the case,” he added.
Details of Sunday’s attack remain unclear.
Kataeb Hezbollah (“Brigades of the Party of God”) yesterday denied that it fired her, calling it “fabricated news”.
The target was a base of the anti-jihadist coalition in Syria.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder assured yesterday that “no US (military) personnel were injured” in what he described as a “failed rocket attack”.
This is believed to be the first attack against US forces in or from Iraqi soil, which had been suspended in early February. Since the Israel/Hamas war broke out in October, Iraqi armed groups close to Tehran have launched more than a hundred rocket, drone and missile attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria, which have been retaliated by US airstrikes in both countries.
