Syria’s defense ministry says US air attacks targeted several sites and towns in the eastern region near the border with Iraq and caused “significant damage” to public and private property.
Civilians and military personnel were killed with others being wounded, a statement on the ministry’s Facebook page said. The attacks caused “significant damage” to public and private property.
“The area targeted by the American attacks in eastern Syria is the same area where the Syrian Arab army fights the remnants of the ISIL [ISIS] terrorist organisation,” the ministry said.
“This confirms the United States and its military forces are involved and allied with this organisation, and is working to revive it as a field arm both in Syria and Iraq by all dirty means. The aggression of the US occupation forces at dawn today has no justification other than an attempt to weaken the Syrian Arab army and its allies in the fight against terrorism.”
Iraq denounces US air strikes; warns of ‘serious implications’
The damage from the American air raids on Iraq is still being determined but its military issued a statement condemning the attacks.
“These air strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences. The outcomes will have severe implications on the security and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region,” said Yahya Rasool, the Iraqi military spokesman.
US forces in the Middle East and their allies have faced stepped-up attacks since the war in Gaza began, coming under fire more than 165 times since mid-October.
The US strikes represent a “significant escalation,” according to Allison McManus, managing director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress.
But she was skeptical about the impact, adding: “We have not seen that similar tit-for-tat strikes have had a deterrent effect.”
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