Washington [US], February 4: At least 34 people, including Iranian-backed militia fighters, were killed in US overnight airstrikes in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, a war monitor and government sources said on Saturday.
The Iraqi government said the "blatant aggression" had killed 16 people including civilians, and injured 25 others.
Baghdad also denied it had coordinated with the United States on the strikes, and warned the attack would push the security situation to the "brink of the abyss" in Iraq and the region.
"The US side intentionally engaged in deception and distortion of facts, stating coordination with Iraqi authorities for the perpetration of this aggression - an unfounded claim crafted to mislead international public opinion and evade legal responsibility for this condemned act," an Iraqi government spokesman said in a statement.
Iraq said it will summon the US charge d'affaires in Baghdad to hand him an official protest note over the strikes.
"These adventurous attacks will only lead to more tension and instability in the region," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Saturday. He accused the US of trying to cover up Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
This was a "strategic miscalculation" by the US administration and would only draw Washington further into the conflict between Israel and Palestine," the spokesman said, according to a statement on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.
Source: Qatar Tribune
