Blinken asserts US strikes 'will be heard and deter future action'

The Pentagon had said earlier that US aircraft had hit three targets - two in Syria and one in Iraq - even as Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemil-Kadhemi said it was "a blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security".

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The US military said at least seven fighters were killed in overnight attacks as Binkin said, "A number of the groups involved in recent attacks are militia that are backed by Iran."

It was the second time the US has conducted airstrikes under Biden's administrations this year.

The Pentagon defended the strikes saying President Joe Biden is determined to protect US personnel as Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh accused the United States of disrupting security in the region.

"I would hope that the message sent by the strikes last night will be heard and deter future action," Blinken said.

The US reportedly targeted Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada militant outfits which are allegedly backed by Iran.

Meanwhile, Blinken urged allies to repatriate Islamic State fighters during a discussion in Rome, saying, "The United States continues to urge countries -including coalition partners -- to repatriate, rehabilitate and, where applicable, prosecute their citizens."

Several thousand Islamic State(IS) fighters are believed to be held in northern Syria by Kurdish forces. "This situation is simply untenable. It just can't persist indefinitely," Blinken asserted.

Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio however said that countries shouldn't lower their guard and look to step up action "not just in the Middle East but Africa", a statement which was backed by German foreign minister Heiko Maas.

The US secretary of state-designated Ousmane Illiassou Djibo, a Niger-born IS terrorist based in Mali, as a "specially designated global terrorist".

(With inputs from Agencies)