[ad_1]
23 minutes ago
Damascus – “Al-Quds Al-Arabi”: In a heavy coup consisting of several messages in multiple directions, the first since US President Joe Biden assumed the presidency, a US bombing on Thursday night and Friday evening night targeted the infrastructure of the Iranian militia in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq, which is the first military operation, in response to recent attacks that affected Western interests in Iraq. The attacks condemned by Damascus and its ally Moscow occurred in a context of tension between the United States and Iran over the Iranian nuclear file and the return to the negotiating table.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted at least 22 deaths from Iraqi factions loyal to Iran, most of them from the Hezbollah Brigades and the Popular Mobilization Forces. The Hezbollah Brigades, who named a member of their ranks, described the attack as “a heinous crime that violates international law and insults the sovereignty of Iraq.” In a statement, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby described the attacks as “defensive” and explained that they destroyed “numerous infrastructure located at a border point used by Iranian-backed militias,” specifically Kataib Hezbollah and Sayyid. al-Shuhada, who are part of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. According to the observatory, the US raids destroyed three trucks carrying ammunition at one in the morning as they entered from an illegal Iraq crossing south of the town of Albu Kamal in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside.
The area between the cities of Albu Kamal and Al-Mayadeen is under Iranian influence, through pro-Iranian groups fighting alongside Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the “cowardly US aggression”, saying it “constitutes a negative indication of the policies of the new US administration.” And he warned in a statement that “it would have consequences that would aggravate the situation in the region,” and asked Washington to “change its aggressive approach towards it.”
The Iraqi Defense Ministry denied receiving information from the US side before the bombing took place, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Washington informed the Russian army only four or five minutes ago. “This kind of warning, when strikes are taking place, is of no use to us,” he said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova “strongly” condemned the US bombing and called for “unconditional respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”
The White House said, according to spokeswoman Jean Saki, that President Joe Biden “sends an unequivocal message that he will act to protect Americans, and when threats are made, he has the right to act at the time and method he chooses.” Many analysts viewed the strikes as “smart and strong” messages in four directions to Damascus, Moscow, Baghdad and Tehran.
Local sources told “Al-Quds Al-Arabi” that the US raids last night targeted the military crossing “Hussein Ali” near the village of Al-Hari, as the crossing connects Syrian and Iraqi lands, and It is designated for crossing military trucks, weapons and ammunition.
A researcher at the Arab Center in Washington, Radwan Ziadeh, expressed his belief that the airstrikes would be an entry point to reshape US policy towards Syria, considering that “they have many symbolic and political connotations.” The spokesperson attributed to Al-Quds Al-Arabi the reason that “Biden will not hesitate to use force in Syria, contrary to what Iran and the Syrian regime have promoted, since the moment of negotiations and the moment of air strikes against Iran. the militias in Syria are over. “On the other hand,” Biden practically linked the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program to the role of its activities abroad.
Military and strategic expert Dr. Fayez Al-Duwairi said President Biden chose the least damaging option among the options presented to him to maintain a state of semi-stability and no escalation.
In addition, according to the military expert, Washington chose “the location of the attack in Syria so as not to embarrass the Iraqi government and not to intensify the dispute between it and the popular crowd.” Regarding the lack of information from Moscow on these attacks, Al-Douairi considered that the reason is that “the area in which the operation was carried out is outside the responsibility of Russia and within the American umbrella.”
Simultaneously, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced that his country “supports US air strikes in Syria.” Raab wrote on Twitter that “the UK supports the US response directed against militia groups attacking coalition bases,” while a senior intelligence source confirmed to “Al-Quds Al-Arabi,” on condition of anonymity, that the source of the Iraqi intelligence information Austin spoke of was obtained from the Iraqi intelligence service, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, or through joint operations that they bring along with the military and security institutions Iraqis with the international coalition.
