On June 27, U.S. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. U.S. troops in eastern Syria came under rocket fire the day after the airstrikes, with no reported casualties. Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in the attack. The strike drew the ire of mostly Shiite Iraqi lawmakers and prompted parliament to pass a nonbinding resolution to pressure the Iraqi government to oust foreign troops from the country. Thousands of Iran-backed fighters remain in Syria, many of them deployed close to the Iraqi border in the towns of Boukamal and Mayadeen.

Source: ABC News July 06, 2021 03:10 UTC