Details are emerging on the overnight US attacks against the border area of Iraq and Syria. One of the strikes killed a child, and wounded three civilians when it hit a residential area, Syrian state sources say.
“Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said one child had been killed and that at least three other people were wounded,” AFP writes.
That missile strike hit an area in al-Bukamal, the main border crossing city in Syria leading to Iraq. There is no indication why the US thought this residential area was a military target, though US officials maintain that the strikes were valid as “self-defense.”
The US strikes were meant to target an Iraqi Shi’ite militia, Ketaib Hezbollah, under the pretense that the group is an “Iranian-backed militia.” The militia, and other allied Iraqi militias, are now threatening “open war” in retaliation.
🎥 US Airstrike in Syria and Iraq on June 27th, 2021 -kills 1 child, wounds 3 civilians and kills 4 resistance militia members
FLIR footages are convenient. They hide any inaccuracy / debris damage to surrounding areas, so anything is a ‘precision strike’ pic.twitter.com/2Sqv06kplc
— ASB News / MILITARY〽️ (@ASBMilitary) June 28, 2021
The Pentagon’s statement on the US attack claimed the two strikes in Syria hit “weapons storage facilities.” This is clearly not the case if that missile is any indication, as it hit a civilian home in a relatively small city.
The US further suggested that the targets were related to drone attacks against US forces in Iraq. The US forces in Iraq and Syria are likely to face further attacks now, as the strikes are provoking retaliation already.
There’s no legal authorization for U.S. troops to be in Iraq or Syria. Bring them home and stop bombing people under the guise of self-defense. https://t.co/EYZipHURtK
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 28, 2021
Meanwhile…
“I directed last night’s airstrikes targeting sites used by the Iranian-backed militia groups responsible for recent attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq, and I had that authority under Article II,” Biden said Monday in his first public remarks defending the attack against some Congressional pushback. He merely cited the part of the Constitution which designates the president commander-in-chief.
Biden Babble on Presidents’ Right to Bomb Anywhere: “I have that authority under Article 2 and even those up on the Hill are reluctant to acknowledge that have acknowledged that is the case.” Bull. https://t.co/60tSBOk83Z
— James Bovard (@JimBovard) June 29, 2021
Authored by Jazon Ditz via AntiWar.com,
