Iraq condemns US air raids as ‘breach of sovereignty’

“These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” General Yehya Rasool, a spokesman for Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, said in a statement.

He noted that the actions taken by Washington will have “disastrous consequences for the security and stability of Iraq and the region”.

The White House has announced that the United States had notified Iraq prior to Friday’s strikes on three locations within the country.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its military forces struck more than 85 targets in the two countries “with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States”.

“The air strikes employed more than 125 precision munitions,” it added in a statement.

US President Joe Biden stated in a statement on Friday that the strikes were the first in a series of actions by Washington in response to a drone attack that killed a number of soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan.

“Our response began today,” Biden continued, adding, “It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”

Three US soldiers were killed and about 40 others injured in the assault on the military base known as Tower 22 near the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, in a statement published on its Telegram channel claimed responsibility for the drone strike.