The US military struck three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq after an attack injured US military personnel earlier in the day. “U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “These precision strikes are in response to a series of attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Kataeb Hezbollah and Iranian-affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base that took place today .»
Turkey has also stepped up airstrikes against Kurdish groups in Syria and northern Iraq in response to the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers in Iraq over the weekend. The Turkish Defense Ministry said it had killed at least 26 militants in the attacks. The version provided by the Kurdish group Syrian Democratic Forces is different, whose spokesman Farhad Shami reported on X that at least 8 civilians, including 2 women, were killed in Turkish airstrikes in northeastern Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 12 more people were injured. According to the Observatory, there will be 128 attacks carried out by Turkey in northeastern Syria in 2023, resulting in a total of 94 deaths.
Turkish authorities said on Friday that militants affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s, attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. . That day they reported the death of 6 Turkish soldiers in the ensuing firefight, while the following day they reported 6 more Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with Kurdish militants. In response, Ankara launched attacks against dozens of sites it said were associated with the PKK in Iraq and Syria. The Middle East simply cannot find peace.
Source: IL Tempo

John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.