US Carries Out Airstrike Against Militia Target in Syria

Officials told Reuters that President Biden approved the attack

According to Reuters, the US bombed a structure in Syria belonging to what it described as an “Iran-backed militia.” Two anonymous US officials told Reuters that the attack was approved by President Biden.

The airstrike is being presented as retaliation for recent rocket attacks in Iraq, including one in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, that killed a contractor. The US often blames these types of attacks on Iran-aligned groups, but there are many forces inside Iraq that have their own reasons to fire on the US.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia aligned with Iran, denied any role in the Erbil attack. With Iran seeking sanctions relief from the new administration, orchestrating such an attack does not seem to be in their interest.

The Biden administration has yet to publicly attribute blame for the Erbil attack, but US media outlets were quick to blame the incident on Iran despite a lack of evidence.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.