Iraqi Military Condemns U.S. Air Strikes as Violation of Sovereignty

Iraq’s military condemned overnight U.S. air strikes on Friday, saying they had killed six people and describing them as a violation of sovereignty and a targeted aggression against the nation’s formal armed forces.

The United States said it carried out the series of strikes on Thursday against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq that it blamed for a rocket attack a day earlier which killed two American troops and a British soldier.

“The pretext that this attack came as a response to the aggression that targeted the Taji base is a false pretext; one that leads to escalation and does not provide a solution,” Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

“This action is against the will of the Iraqi state and a violation of its sovereignty, it strengthens outlaws. No party has the right to substitute itself for the state, its sovereignty, or its legitimate decisions.”

It said that as well as the six killed, 12 people had been wounded in the U.S. air strikes.

The Pentagon said the strikes targeted five weapons stores used by Kataib Hezbollah fighters, including facilities housing arms used in past attacks on U.S.-led coalition troops.

The Iraqi military statement said that no paramilitary fighters had been killed. It said three soldiers, two policemen and one civilian were killed, according to an initial toll, and that the wounded included four soldiers, two policemen, a civilian, and five militiamen.