Launches Air Strikes On Syria And Iraq, The United States Reaps Criticism

Illustration of the United States military base in Iraq. (Wikimedia Commons/CPT Chris Heathscott/39th Brigade PAO)

JAKARTA - United States troops came under rocket fire in Syria on Monday but escaped injury, in retaliation for last weekend's US airstrikes against Iran-allied militias in Syria and Iraq.

A US military spokesman said US troops had responded to some of the rockets by firing back at launch positions in self-defense.

"There were no (US) injuries and damage is being assessed," Colonel Wayne Marotto said, referring to the rocket attack. However, he did not say who was responsible for the attack on the military base of US troops.

Sources in Deir al Zor, in eastern Syria, said Iran-backed militia groups had fired several artillery shells in the vicinity of the al Omar oil field, which is controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The rocket fire is a risk of escalating US military airstrikes against Iran-aligned militias, which Washington blames for drone attacks on US troops and facilities in Iraq.

Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the White House had defended US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday as a way to reduce the risk of conflict.

"We are taking necessary, appropriate, deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous message of prevention," Blinken told reporters in Rome.

The Iraqi militia group allied with Iran said in a statement that four members of the Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada faction were killed in an attack on the Syria-Iraq border. They vowed to retaliate.

The Iraqi government, wary of being drawn into a US-Iran conflict, has condemned US attacks on its territory and said it would "study all legal options" to prevent such acts from happening again. Syria called the attack a "flagrant violation of the sanctity of the land of Syria and Iraq."

The Iraqi military has condemned the US attack. However, the militaries of the two countries are coordinating closely in separate battles in Iraq, battling remnants of the Islamic State Sunni extremist group.

Two US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Iran-backed militias have carried out at least five drone strikes against facilities used by US and coalition personnel in Iraq since April.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Iran is a bad actor in the region who advocates "deeply problematic behavior" but defends diplomatic reach as a way to deny Tehran has nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iran called on the United States to avoid "creating a crisis" in the region.

"Of course what the United States is doing is disturbing security in the region, and one of the victims of this disturbance is the United States," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh criticized.