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Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Iraq FM: US apologized for not informing us ahead of Feb 2 strikes

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Mar 2024 08:50
3 Min Read

The apology is a result of US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel saying days after the attack that the US did not warn Iraq prior to the strikes, as opposed to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby's claim.

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  • Iraqis attend the funeral of Popular Mobilization Forces fighters killed in the U.S. airstrikes at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. (AP)
    Iraqis attend the funeral of Popular Mobilization Forces fighters killed in the US airstrikes at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, February 4, 2024. (AP)

Talking to Sputnik, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussain confirmed that the US offered an apology to Iraq for not warning it in advance about the airstrikes on February 2, which killed 16 people.

"Indeed, Washington did not warn Iraq about the attacks on Iraqi security forces. A US official has offered us apologies in connection with that situation," Hussain said on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

The strikes came after three US troops were killed and 40 injured in a drone attack on a US military outpost which the US claimed to be in Jordan, as the US then continued to strike Syrian soil. 

Biden blamed "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," referring to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq which announced earlier in January that they would escalate their attacks after the US conducted several raids in Iraq and assassinated a military official in central Baghdad.

Both Iraq and Syria strongly condemned the attacks on their soil. Initially, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said the US "did inform the Iraqi government prior to the strikes occurring."

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However, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on February 6 that the US did not warn Iraq prior to the strikes. Kirby later claimed he had misspoken.

Patel stated "Iraq, like every country in the region, understood that there would be a response after the deaths of our soldiers. As for this specific response on Friday, there was not a pre-notification. We informed the Iraqis immediately after the strikes occurred," debunking Kirby's claims of the US informing Iraq before conducting its strikes on the country.

'Not what it seems'

The Pentagon calls the US base in Jordan, Tower 22, a “logistics support base” - however, in reality, the area in which three US troops were killed last month is more than what it seems.

The Intercept reported that Tower 22 is secretly a drone base for long-range surveillance against Syria and Iraq and to conduct airstrikes, according to two US military sources. It is also a staging facility for special operations forces and is a medevac helicopter home base.

Talking to The Intercept, an Air Force airman, whose unit was recently stationed at the base, said, “To call Tower 22 a logistics support base is complete bu******,” as logistics was only a minor part - or a disguise - to merely deliver food and fuel to the nearby al-Tanf base.

“The main purpose of Tower 22 is to operate drones to spy on insurgents in Iraq and Syria, for targeting purposes,” the airman added, noting, “The main objective I witnessed was taking out targets.”

  • United States
  • Palestine
  • Iraq
  • Yemen
  • John Kirby
  • Fuad Hussain

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