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| US President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, are riding a private plane at Hagerstown Airport, Maryland, to return to the White House after spending a weekend at Camp David Villa on the 15th (local time). © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
Joe Biden’s U.S. administration launched an investigation into a rocket attack in Iraq. CNBC reported on the 16th (local time) that the Biden administration is not excluding potential retaliation.
According to this, on the 15th, a rocket gun attack occurred at a US base in Erbil, an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. The attack killed one civilian and wounded five civilians and an American soldier.
Kurdish security sources say at least three rockets have dropped into civilian settlements near international airports. US troops are stationed nearby.
The Biden administration decided to determine who was responsible for the attack and decide on a response plan.
White House spokesman Jen Saki mourned the victims briefly prior to the briefing, saying, “The president and administration of the United States have the right to respond in a timely manner that we choose.”
“But we will wait for the reasons attributable to be concluded before taking any further action,” said Saki. “Diplomacy is the administration’s priority.”
Saki added that the United States is currently investigating to find out behind the attack.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said after the attack, Secretary of State Tony Blincoln spoke with Masur Barzani, head of the Kurdish region. A spokesman for Price said on the 15th that a top US diplomat spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
“It would be more appropriate to look at the motives once the perpetrator is identified,” Price said on the possibility of a US response.
The U.S. pointed to Cataive Hezbollah as the back of an attack on a base near Kirkur in 2019. In this attack, the US killed the Iranian commander by Kasem Solemani.