Mike Pompeo defends US strikes in Iraq, Syria in call with Guterres
Washington/Sputnik/UNI: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres defended American strikes in Iraq and Syria as a response and deterrent to Iranian attacks, the State Department’s spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.
"Secretary Pompeo discussed with Secretary-General Guterres the recent attacks in Iraq that led to the tragic death of an American citizen and put many other American lives at risk. The Secretary reiterated that defensive actions taken by the United States in response were aimed at deterring Iran," Ortagus said in a statement on Monday.
She added that Pompeo had agreed to stay in close communication with Guterres.
On Sunday, the US Defense Department said it had carried out "defensive strikes" against five Kata'ib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria in retaliation against the group's attack on a base near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that left one US defense contractor dead and four soldiers wounded.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq that includes Kata'ib Hezbollah, said that 25 fighters were killed and 51 others injured in the US attack.
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