Baghdad, Iraq – In a dangerous escalation that places Iraq at the heart of a regional confrontation, the Iraqi government announced Wednesday that it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires in Baghdad and handed him a strongly worded protest note following a heavy airstrike that targeted the Habbaniyah military clinic in Anbar province. The bombing resulted in a number of Iraqi army casualties.
Government: “A fully-fledged crime”
The spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sabah al-Nu’man, affirmed that this aggression constitutes a “fully-fledged crime” that violates international law. In an official statement, he emphasized that the Iraqi government and its armed forces have the right to respond by all means permitted under the UN Charter.
The statement added, “We will not remain silent in the face of the sanctity of the blood of our heroic martyrs,” considering these irresponsible actions to be detrimental to regional stability efforts and, in fact, further complicating the security situation.
The Habbaniyah Massacre: Bloody Details
These developments follow the Iraqi Ministry of Defense’s announcement that seven fighters were killed and 13 others wounded in an airstrike targeting medical and military facilities inside the Habbaniyah airbase.
This strike marks the second such attack in less than 24 hours, after a previous bombing targeted Popular Mobilization Forces positions. That earlier attack resulted in 15 deaths and 14 injuries. These attacks raise serious concerns that Iraqi territory is becoming an open arena for settling regional scores.
International and legal action
In a move reflecting the seriousness of the Iraqi position, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver official protest notes. He also instructed them to submit a documented and substantiated complaint to the UN Security Council and the United Nations. The aim is to solidify Iraq’s right to defend its sovereignty. The National Security Council had decided on Tuesday evening to authorize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver two official protest notes to the ambassadors of the United States and Iran. This decision came in protest against the violation of Iraqi sovereignty and the bombing of both military and civilian sites.
Baghdad affirms that the continuation of these violations not only undermines stability but also places obstacle after obstacle in the government’s efforts to establish internal security. These developments come at a time when the region is experiencing a state of high alert and extreme caution, amidst growing public demands for the protection of national sovereignty. There are also calls to put an end to the transgressions that now threaten the country’s security and stability on a daily basis, against the backdrop of the ongoing regional war that has burdened the Iraqi state.
