Iraq-Syria border strikes on pro-Iran ‘militias’ spark retaliation
Airstrikes on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border near Qaim conducted by the United States were followed by retaliatory strikes by Iran-linked groups against a Kurdish-led SDF base housing coalition forces in eastern Syria.
![Iraqi mourners attend the funeral of a fighter of the Hashid Shaabi paramilitary alliance following US airstrikes on the Syrian-Iraqi border, on June 28, 2021, in the northern Ninevah province.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2021-06/GettyImages-1233711107.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=rrvuzVJl)
On June 29, four coffins draped in the Iraqi flag were carried through central Baghdad streets packed with people taking part in a symbolic funeral procession protest.
US airstrikes on June 27 near the city of Qaim on the country’s border with Syria killed four members of what a Pentagon spokesperson said were “Iran-backed militia groups responsible for the series of recent attacks against facilities housing US personnel in Iraq.”