BAGHDAD: US strikes in the west of Iraq against armed groups killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and wounded 23, Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said on Saturday.
The strikes hit "locations in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, including areas where our security forces are stationed", Awadi said in a statement.
The United States carried out the strikes on Friday in retaliation for the killing of three US military personnel in a drone attack on a base close to Jordan's border with Syria and Iraq.
Washington blamed the unclaimed attack on the Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of fighters opposed to US support for Israel in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden underlined that the overnight strikes were only a beginning. "Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," he said in a statement.
His National Security Council spokesman said Washington "did inform the Iraqi government prior to the strikes," but his remark drew an angry denial from Baghdad.
On Friday, a White House spokesperson said the United States had "warned the Iraqi government before the strikes".
But Baghdad denied there had been any coordination with Washington prior to the bombings.
Awadi accused the United States of "deception and distortion of facts" and called the suggestion "an unfounded claim crafted to mislead international public opinion and evade legal responsibility" for what he said was a breach of international law.
"This aggressive air strike will push the security situation in Iraq and the region to the brink of the abyss," the spokesman said.
Awadi condemned the use of Iraq's territory as a "battleground for settling scores" and repeated his government's call for the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition in Iraq.
The coalition had "deviated from its assigned tasks and granted mandate," he said, and was "endangering security and stability in Iraq".
Analysts said the US strikes were unlikely to stem the flurry of attacks on US targets around the Middle East sparked by US support for Israel in Gaza war.
The strikes represent a "significant escalation," according to Allison McManus, managing director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress.
There are roughly 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria.
Since mid-October, there have been more than 165 drone and rocket attacks against coalition troops in Iraq and Syria, with most being claimed by the Resistance in Iraq. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
