June 2021 United States airstrike in Syria
Part of the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war
Location of Deir ez-Zor Governorate in Syria
Type	Air interdiction
Location	Imam Ali military base, Abu Kamal border crossing, Abu Kamal, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria
Planned by	United States
Commanded by	Joe Biden
Target	Kata'ib Hezbollah Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
Date	28 June 2021 (2021-06-28) (local time, UTC+3)
Executed by	United States Air Force
Casualties	4-9 militiamen killed[1]

On 28 June 2021, President Biden directed airstrikes against Iran-backed militia groups close to the Syria-Iraq border.^[2] F-15E and F-16 aircraft were used to launch the attack in what the U.S. described as a retaliatory attack against U.S. facilities and personnel in Iraq by militia groups.^[3][4] Two operational and weapons storage facilities were targeted in Syria, the U.S. military revealed in a statement.^[5] Despite the U.S. not disclosing the information regarding the casualties in the attack, the SOHR stated that at least nine Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters died, leaving many others injured.^[6] Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran in a statement named four members of the Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada faction they said were killed in the attack on the Syria-Iraq border.

Reaction

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi condemned the air attack as a "blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security".^[7] Meanwhile, Syrian state media (SANA) reported that an air missile attack after midnight on residential houses in the countryside of Abu Kamal, presumably by American warplanes, killed a child and injured three civilians.^[8]

Aftermath

Hours later, U.S. forces in Syria came under fire, following the U.S. strikes on the Syria-Iraqi border.^[9] Pro-Iranian militias fired rockets at the American base at Al-Omar Oilfield in Syria in response to U.S. airstrikes.^[10] The U.S. coalition responded by firing heavy artillery on Iranian-backed Militias Positions around Al-Mayadin.^[11][12] There were no injuries sustained during the attack, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, Col. Wayne Marotto disclosed.^[13][14]