Iraq FM: US apologized for not informing us ahead of Feb 2 strikes
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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 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."
Read next: Hezbollah says US strikes on Syria, Iraq aggravating regional conflict
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.”
