Biden’s airstrike

News in Brief

New US president Joe Biden carried out his first military action less than six weeks after taking office – without providing any legal justification.

On 26 February, US airstrikes hit a compound in eastern Syria used by two Iraqi militias which are part of the Iraqi government’s popular mobilisation forces.

The US blames these groups, Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib sayyid al-Shuhada, for recent attacks on US forces in Iraq.

The trigger for the airstrike seems to have been rocket attacks near Irbil on 15 February and near Balad on 20 February which left US soldiers injured and one US civilian ‘contractor’ dead.