Bulldozers remove rubble after the American bombing of the Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Anbar (Anatolia)

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, and called on the Iraqi presidency to meet with the three presidencies, to discuss the US strikes that hit sites in Iraq and Syria, while Washington confirmed the continuation of military operations in the region in the coming days.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry handed over the Charge d'Affairs of the US Embassy in Baghdad an official note of protest regarding what it described as the American attack on military and civilian sites in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, stressing that the strikes constitute a blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

She added that the American attacks yesterday, Friday, will undermine the chances of success of the ongoing negotiations to regulate the work of the international coalition, and will lead to escalation of tension, and threaten the security and stability of the region.

The Popular Mobilization Forces announced that 16 were killed and 36 others were injured as a result of the strikes, noting that "the search is still ongoing for the bodies of a number of missing people."

No coordination

The Iraqi presidency also called for an emergency meeting of the three presidencies and political blocs to discuss what it described as “American aggression” against the country.

It denied the existence of any prior coordination for the United States to launch strikes on Iraq, describing what Washington announced as a false claim aimed at misleading international public opinion.

Effects of the American bombing in Iraq (Anatolia)

Washington continues

In the United States, ABC quoted the Director of Operations at the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying that the strikes included 3 facilities in Iraq and 4 in Syria.

The network also quoted National Security Council Communications Coordinator John Kirby as saying that the Pentagon is in the early stages of the process of evaluating the results of the attacks, which he described as successful.

He pointed out that the strikes lasted half an hour, and more than 25 precision-guided bombs were used, indicating that they will continue during the coming days.

Fueling conflict

For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the American strikes on its territory, and said that this attack fuels conflict in the region.

She added that the United States is the main source of global instability, considering that American forces threaten international peace and security.

While the Syrian News Agency confirmed that the American strikes resulted in the deaths of civilians and soldiers.

Urgent meeting

Moscow condemned the US strikes in Syria and Iraq, and considered them a blatant violation of international law.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the United States of wanting to inflame the conflict in the region.

She added that she called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in the Middle East against the backdrop of the American strikes.

Iran denounces

In turn, Tehran strongly condemned the US strikes, describing them as “violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria,” saying that the strikes undermine regional stability, and saw them as a strategic error.

She confirmed that there are no bases belonging to the Revolutionary Guards or the Quds Force in the areas that were subjected to American bombing in Syria.

The Palestinian resistance condemns

Both the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad condemned the American strikes on Syria and Iraq.

They considered the attack a violation of the sovereignty of both countries, and would escalate regional tension and increase instability in the region.

The resistance in Iraq is bombed

After the American strikes, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq today targeted, with a drone, the American “Harir” base near Erbil Airport, in the Kurdistan region in the north of the country.

It also targeted, with a drone, the American “Kharab al-Jir” base deep in Syria.

What did Washington target?

Last night, the US Army launched raids on more than 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, in response to the attack launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which resulted in the killing of 3 American soldiers and the wounding of others in Jordan.

Iraqi security sources said that the American strikes targeted weapons stores and the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces in the Al-Qaim area in Anbar Governorate.

It also targeted the headquarters of the Anbar Operations Command of the Mobilization Forces, the medical headquarters, and other headquarters of the Mobilization Forces in the Akashat area.

In Syria, the American bombing targeted the “Hawija Saqr” area, the center of the city of Deir ez-Zor, the Deir ez-Zor military airport, the “Al-Tammo” neighborhood in the city of Al-Mayadeen in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, and the areas of Al-Shibli and Ain Ali, in its vicinity.

In Homs, central Syria, American aircraft raided the third pumping station in the desert of Palmyra.

As for the Syrian-Iraqi border, the strikes came on the Al-Hajjana neighborhood, west of the city of Al-Bukamal, and on the village of Al-Hari in its vicinity. Local sources told Al Jazeera that some of the targeted sites belong to the Iranian-backed Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun factions.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies