US Apologizes to Iraq for February Airstrikes on Its Territory

ANTALYA, Turkiye (Sputnik) - Washington has offered an apology to Baghdad for failing to warn it in advance about the airstrikes on Iraqi territory on February 2, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Mohammed Hussein told Sputnik.

"Indeed, Washington did not warn Iraq about the attacks on Iraqi security forces. A US official has offered us apologies in connection with that situation," Hussein said on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

In late January, three US soldiers were killed and over 40 others injured in a drone attack on a US military outpost in Jordan. Washington blamed allegedly Iran-backed militant groups for the attack and, on February 2, retaliated by striking targets in Iraq and Syria, which it believes were linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias. Both Baghdad and Damascus strongly condemned the attacks on their soil.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby first said the US "did inform the Iraqi government prior to the strikes occurring." However, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel admitted on February 6 that Washington had not warned Baghdad prior to the strikes. Kirby himself later said he had misspoken.