US launches retaliation strike against Syrian militia

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria yesterday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.

The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasised its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist. Biden’s decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen US military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend US troops in Iraq.

‘‘I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit.’’ Lloyd Austin US Defence Secretary

‘‘I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,’’ Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington. Speaking shortly after the airstrikes, he added, ‘‘We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,’’ referring to a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition personnel.

Austin said he recommended the action to Biden.

‘‘We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline,’’ Austin said. ‘‘We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets.’’

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US action was a ‘‘proportionate military response’’ taken together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners.

‘‘The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,’’ Kirby said. ‘‘At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.’’

Kirby said the US airstrikes ‘‘destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups,’’ including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid alShuhada

. The US has blamed Kataib Hezbollah for numerous attacks targeting US personnel and interests in Iraq in the past.

Further details were not immediately available. Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, criticised the US 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.’’

Biden administration officials condemned the February 15 rocket attack near the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, but as recently as this week officials indicated they had not determined for certain who carried it out. Officials have noted that in the past, Iranianbacked Shiite militia groups have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks that targeted US personnel or facilities in Iraq.