A flurry of airstrikes against an Iraqi militia base in the eastern
Syrian border town of Al-Bukamal killed at least 18 people, according to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The 18 killed were presented as “pro-Iranian forces,”
though in reality they are Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), part of
the Iraqi government and often branded as Iran-linked by Israel because
they’re both Shi’ite.
Since Israel has been attacking PMF forces inside Iraq recently, it is widely believed that Israel is behind this attack inside Syria as well, though so far there has been no confirmation, and some are speculating that the US might be involved.
Israel has not commented on the attack, which is not unusual for their
attacks inside Syria. Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, has recently
bragged about his attacks on Iraq, making this something of an outlier
in that regard.
‘Mystery Airstrikes’ Kill at Least 18 Iraqi Fighters on Syria Border
Overnight strikes believed to be a continuation of Israeli attacks
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
