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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.

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.”

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