U.S. strike, first under Biden, kills Iran-backed militiaman in Syria
(I'm surprised no one has posted this on DU yet).
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-strike-first-under-biden-kills-iran-backed-militiaman-in-syria
Feb 26, 2021
BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one fighter and wounding several others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday, signaling the first military action undertaken by U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Pentagon gave a briefing Friday on the strike. (Watch it in the player)
Pentagon officials said the strikes were retaliation for recent attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq, including a rocket attack in northern Iraq on Feb. 15 that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.
Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, criticized the U.S. attack as a violation of international law.
“The United Nations Charter makes absolutely clear that the use of military force on the territory of a foreign sovereign state is lawful only in response to an armed attack on the defending state for which the target state is responsible,” she said. “None of those elements is met in the Syria strike.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/3/1/syrian_airstrikes_biden_administration
The Biden administration is facing intense criticism from U.S. progressives after carrying out airstrikes on eastern Syria said to be targeting Iranian-backed militia groups. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 22 people died.
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