Sunday’s night’s series of US airstrikes on Syria and Iraq were theย second publicly disclosed military strikes of Biden’s presidency, which were described as targetingย Iran-backed militia’s which had been targeting American troop positions with drone and rocket attacks.

Theย Associated Pressย overnight cited Iraqi militia officials to say thatย at least four militants were killedย in the US operation along Syria’s eastern border – the first strike of which hit a weapons depot inside Syria. Additionally one UK-based Mideast monitoring group saidย at least sevenย Iraqi fighters were killed.ย 

The military action was described by the Department of Defense as follows:ย “At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensiveย precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region,” according to a lateย Sunday statement. Andย The Wall Street Journalย described on Monday: “The Pentagon said operational and weapons-storage facilities had been struck near the Syria-Iraq border at three locations that it said had been used by the Kataโ€™ib Hezbollah and Kataโ€™ib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia groups.”

The escalation has once again set off tensions with Baghdad – not to mention threatening to further complicate Iran nuclear talks in Vienna – at a moment much of Iraq’s government is pressuring Western forces to finally be removed from Iraqi soil, given the ‘anti-ISIS’ mission has long appeared to have been completed.ย The Iraqi Army issued a blistering statement condemning theย “blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and national security.”

Meanwhile at least one US Congressman noted the glaring lack of war authorization or Congressional approval for the Biden-ordered strikes…

To be expected, Tehran also blasted the airstrikes as creating instability in the region,ย accordingย to foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday. “Definitely, what the USย is doing is disrupting the security of the region.”

But most importantly in terms setting the stage for potential imminent escalation,ย a coalition of pro-Iranian Iraqi militias vowed revenge in a statement issued immediately afterward:ย 

“We … will avenge the blood of our righteous martyrs against the perpetrators of this heinous crime and with Godโ€™s help we will make the enemy taste the bitterness of revenge,” they said.

Such airstrikes began growing commonplace during the last year of the Trump administration amid growing tit-for-tat attacks between Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. During 2020ย the series of attacksย nearlyย sucked Iran and the US into direct war, especially following the Januaryย assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.ย 

This article appeared at ZeroHedge.com at:ย  https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-backed-militias-vow-swift-revenge-against-us-after-syria-iraq-airstrikes

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