Iraqi Government: US Airstrikes In Iraq Killed 16 Including Civilians

On Saturday, Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi stated that US strikes against armed pro-Iran groups in western Iraq killed at least 16 individuals, including civilians, and 23 wounded.

In a statement, Awadi noted, “The strikes hit locations in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, including areas where our security forces are stationed”.

The United States launched the attacks on Friday in retaliation for the deaths of three US military members in a drone attack on a site near Jordan’s border with Syria and Iraq.

Washington blamed the unclaimed attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a nebulous association of pro-Iran rebels opposed to the United States assistance for Israel in Gaza.

Tehran has denied any involvement with the incident.

On Friday, a White House official stated that the United States had warned the Iraqi government before the strikes.

However, Baghdad denied any coordination with Washington had occurred before the bombings.

Awadi accused the US of deception and distortion of facts and described the suggestion as an unfounded claim crafted to mislead international public opinion and evade legal responsibility for what he claimed was a breach of international law.

“This aggressive air strike will push the security situation in Iraq and the region to the brink of the abyss”, the statement reads.

Awadi condemned the exploitation of Iraqi soil as a battleground for settling scores and reiterated his government’s desire for the withdrawal of the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition from Iraq.

He claimed that the coalition had deviated from its assigned tasks and granted a mandate, putting Iraq’s security and stability at risk.

As part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat the Islamic State group, around 2,500 US troops are stationed in Iraq and approximately 900 in Syria. The jihadist group overran roughly one-third of Iraq that year.

More than 165 drone and rocket attacks against coalition troops in Iraq and Syria have occurred since mid-October, with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claiming responsibility for the majority of them.

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