ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The United States has put its forces in Iraq on higher alert following a US airstrike targeting Iranian-backed militias in Syria, a coalition spokesperson confirmed to Rudaw on Saturday. "We’ve had a temporary increase in the force protection posture of the forces deployed to the region to ensure appropriate force protection,” coalition spokesperson Colonel Wayne Marotto confirmed to Rudaw’s Rekar Aziz in a text message on Saturday. “For operational security reasons, we do not discuss specifics on force disposition, future operations, or deployments,” added Marotto. Marotto said changing alert levels are “not out of the ordinary” in light of recent events, adding that the Coalition reserves “the right to meet any provocation with the appropriate level of Force protection to defend themselves. The US military struck facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed armed groups Thursday, saying President Joe Biden's new administration was sending Tehran a message after recent rocket attacks on US troop locations in Iraq. "These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement. The US action followed three rocket attacks on facilities in Iraq used by United States and Coalition forces fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) group. A top media advisor for Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Friday that US President Joe Biden has shown himself to be no different to former President Donald Trump when it comes to Iran. “When it comes to our repose we will respond in a way that is calculated within our own timetable and using a mix of tools, at a time and place of our choosing … What we will not do is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran and contributes to their attempts to further destabilize Iraq," Ned Price, spokesperson for the US department of State, said in a press briefing on February 22.
