US Strike Killed Child, Wounded Three Civilians at Iraq-Syria Border

US missile struck residential area in al-Bukamal

Details are emerging on the overnight US attacks against the border area of Iraq and Syria. One of the strikes killed a child, and wounded three civilians when it hit a residential area.

That missile strike hit an area in al-Bukamal, the main border crossing city in Syria leading to Iraq. There is no indication why the US thought this residential area was a military target, though US officials maintain that the strikes were valid as “self-defense.”

The US strikes were meant to target an Iraqi Shi’ite militia, Ketaib Hezbollah, under the pretense that the group is an “Iranian-backed militia.” The militia, and other allied Iraqi militias, are now threatening “open war” in retaliation.

The Pentagon’s statement on the US attack claimed the two strikes in Syria hit “weapons storage facilities.” This is clearly not the case if that missile is any indication, as it hit a civilian home in a relatively small city.

The US further suggested that the targets were related to drone attacks against US forces in Iraq. The US forces in Iraq and Syria are likely to face further attacks now, as the strikes are provoking retaliation already.

Author: Jason Ditz

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.