US says it may bomb more Middle East targets, one militia says it doesn't want wider fight

BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi militia authoritative connected Saturday hinted astatine a tendency to deescalate tensions successful the Middle East pursuing retaliatory strikes launched by the United States against dozens of sites successful Iraq and Syria utilized by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesperson for Harakat al-Nujaba, 1 of the main Iranian-backed militias successful Iraq, successful an interrogation with The Associated Press successful Baghdad condemned the U.S. strikes, saying Washington "must recognize that each enactment elicits a reaction." But helium past struck a much conciliatory tone, saying that "we bash not privation to escalate oregon widen determination tensions."

Mosawi said the targeted sites successful Iraq were chiefly "devoid of fighters and subject unit astatine the clip of the attack."

Syrian authorities media reported that determination were casualties from the strikes but did not springiness a number. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 23 people, each rank-and-file fighters, were killed.

Iraqi authorities spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said successful a connection Saturday that the strikes successful Iraq adjacent the Syrian borderline killed 16, including civilians, and determination was "significant damage" to homes and backstage properties.

A U.S. authoritative said Saturday that an archetypal conflict harm appraisal showed the U.S. had struck each of its planned targets successful summation to a fewer "dynamic targets" that popped up arsenic the ngo unfolded, including a surface-to-air rocket tract and drone motorboat sites. The official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity to supply details that were not yet public, did not yet person a casualty assessment.

Iraq's overseas ministry announced Saturday it would summon the U.S. embassy's chargé d'affaires - the ambassador being extracurricular of the state - to present a ceremonial protestation implicit U.S. strikes connected "Iraqi subject and civilian sites." The U.S. said Friday it had informed Iraq of the impending strikes earlier they started.

The aerial battle was the opening salvo of U.S. retaliation for a drone onslaught that killed 3 U.S. troops successful Jordan past weekend. The U.S. has blamed that connected the Islamic Resistance successful Iraq, a conjugation of Iranian-backed militias.

Iran, meanwhile, has attempted to region itself from the attack, saying that the militias enactment independently of its direction.

Iraqi spokesperson al-Awadi condemned the strikes arsenic a usurpation of Iraqi sovereignty, peculiarly since immoderate of them targeted facilities of the Population Mobilization Forces. The PMF, a conjugation of Iranian-backed militias, was officially brought nether the umbrella of the Iraqi equipped forces aft it joined the combat against the Islamic State successful 2014, but successful signifier it continues to run mostly extracurricular of authorities control.

The Popular Mobilization Forces said successful a connection Saturday that 1 of the sites targeted was an authoritative information office of the group. In summation to the 16 killed, it said 36 radical had been wounded, "while the hunt is inactive ongoing for the bodies of a fig of the missing."

The Iraqi authorities has been successful a delicate presumption since a radical of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias calling itself Islamic Resistance successful Iraq - galore of whose members are besides portion of the PMF - began launching attacks connected U.S. bases successful Iraq and Syria connected Oct. 18. The radical described the strikes arsenic retaliation for Washington's enactment for Israel successful the warfare successful Gaza.

Behind the scenes, Iraqi officials person attempted to rein successful the militias, portion besides condemning U.S. retaliatory strikes arsenic a usurpation of Iraqi sovereignty and calling for an exit of the 2,500 U.S. troops who are successful the state arsenic portion of an planetary conjugation to combat IS. Last month, Iraqi and U.S. subject officials launched ceremonial talks to upwind down the coalition's presence, a process that volition apt instrumentality years.

One of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks connected American troops pursuing Sunday's onslaught that killed the U.S. troops successful Jordan, to debar "embarrassing" the Iraqi government.

Meanwhile Saturday, the U.S. military's Central Command acknowledged it had had a bid of skirmishes successful the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with Yemen's Houthi rebels. On Friday, the USS Carney changeable down a drone implicit the Gulf of Aden and determination were nary injuries oregon damage. The U.S. besides conducted airstrikes connected 4 Houthi drones preparing to motorboat that it said "presented an imminent menace to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships successful the region."

Overnight, F/A-18 combatant jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower craft carrier, on with the USS Laboon, changeable down 7 drones successful the Red Sea.

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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue successful Beirut, Jon Gambrell successful Jerusalem and Tara Copp successful Washington contributed to this report.