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White House Says US Air Strikes in Syria Aim to Send Message

A rocket attack on a military complex inside Erbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition caused serious damage - AFP
A rocket attack on a military complex inside Erbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition caused serious damage - AFP
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White House Says US Air Strikes in Syria Aim to Send Message

A rocket attack on a military complex inside Erbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition caused serious damage - AFP
A rocket attack on a military complex inside Erbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition caused serious damage - AFP

US air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Syria are meant to send the message that President Joe Biden will act to protect Americans, a White House spokeswoman said on Friday.

Future US actions in the region will be deliberative and will aim to deescalate tensions in Syria, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Syria said the strikes in the east of the country were a cowardly act and urged Biden not to follow “the law of the jungle”.

An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four, but US officials said they were limited in scope to show Biden’s administration will act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation.

Washington and Tehran are seeking maximum leverage in attempts to save Iran’s nuclear deal reached with world powers in 2015 but abandoned in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, after which regional tensions soared and fears of full-scale conflict grew.

“Syria condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly US attack on areas in Deir Ezzor near the Syrian-Iraqi border,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“It (the Biden administration) is supposed to stick to international legitimacy, not to the law of the jungle as (did) the previous administration.”

The air strikes, early on Friday Middle Eastern time, targeted militia sites on the Syrian side of the Iraqi-Syrian frontier, where groups backed by Iran control an important crossing for weapons, personnel and goods.

Western officials and some Iraqi officials accuse Iranian-backed groups of involvement in deadly rocket attacks on US sites and personnel in Iraq over the last month.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also criticized the US strikes and called for “unconditional respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”

“What has happened is very dangerous and could lead to an escalation in the whole region,” a Russian parliamentarian, Vladimir Dzhabarov, was quoted as saying by RIA news agency.

Attacks on US forces in Iraq
The Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the air strikes had targeted positions of the Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group along the border.

Later on Friday, Kataib Hezbollah confirmed the death of one of its fighters on the Syrian-Iraqi border and identified him as Sayyid Rahi Salam Zayid al-Sharifi.

Local sources and a medical source in eastern Syria told Reuters that at least 17 people had been killed, but gave no further details. That toll could not be confirmed.

In recent attacks, a non-American contractor was killed at a US military based at Erbil International Airport in Kurdish-run northern Iraq on Feb. 15 and, in the days that followed, rockets were fired at a base hosting US forces, and near the US Embassy in Baghdad.

Biden’s decision to strike only in Syria and not in Iraq gives Iraq’s government breathing room as it investigates the Erbil attack, which also wounded Americans.

Kataib Hezbollah has denied involvement in recent attacks against US interests. Iran denies involvement in attacks on US sites.

Several attacks, including the one on Erbil airport, have been claimed by little-known groups which some Iraqi and Western officials say are a front for established Iranian-backed groups such as Kataib Hezbollah.

Limited response
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement on Thursday that US forces had conducted air strikes against infrastructure used by Iranian-backed militant groups.

“President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq,” Kirby said.

He said the strikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the decision to carry out the strikes was meant to signal that, while the United States wanted to punish the militias, it did not want the situation to spiral into a bigger conflict.

The Iraqi military issued a statement saying it had not exchanged information with the United States over the targeting of locations in Syria, and that cooperation with the US-led coalition in Iraq was limited to fighting ISIS.

Iraq’s foreign minister will visit Iran on Saturday to discuss the situation in the region including ways to balance relations and avoid tension and escalation, his ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

It was not clear how, or whether, the US strikes might affect efforts to coax Iran back into negotiations about both sides resuming compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

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Arab World

Israel Demolishes Gunmen’s Homes in West Bank Operation That Has Displaced Thousands

Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Demolishes Gunmen’s Homes in West Bank Operation That Has Displaced Thousands

Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)
Smoke, dust and debris rise as the Israeli army demolishes two houses with explosives in connection with an Oct. 23 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (AP)

Israel demolished on Friday the homes ‌of the assailants who killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron last week, part of an ongoing operation that has forcibly displaced over 3,000 Palestinians.

After the October 23 attack, in which both gunmen were killed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to launch a large-scale operation in areas near the checkpoint, triggering protests by Palestinian residents.

Palestinian officials have accused Netanyahu of using the operation to drum up support ahead of a general election in Israel on Tuesday. Israel's government says its operation is a response to the attack ‌on its soldiers.

In ‌a statement announcing the demolitions, Israel's military said it ‌would "continue ⁠to operate proactively ⁠and offensively" to thwart attacks in the West Bank and "protect residents in the area".

The homes demolished on Friday had been occupied by the wives and children of the gunmen before the military forced Palestinians to leave the area over the past week, according to local residents.

The military has also demolished other homes as well as shops, roads, and factories in Hebron since ⁠the attack, according to local officials, though the exact ‌scale of the demolitions is unclear.

It has ‌closed most entrances to the city, severely curtailing freedom of movement for Palestinians, including people ‌in need of medical attention.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk ‌said this week that the displacement of residents raised "grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" and that "threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing."

Netanyahu's government has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements, deemed ‌illegal by UN bodies and most countries, though Israel disputes this.

Under Netanyahu's right-wing coalition there has also ⁠been a surge of ⁠militant settler violence against Palestinians.

In Kafr Malik near Ramallah on Friday, Reuters witnesses documented militant Israeli settlers shoving Palestinians and preventing farmers from harvesting their olives, while the Israeli military was present.

The Israeli military said it had responded to reports from Israeli settlers that Palestinians were throwing stones at them, and had arrested two Palestinians.

It did not address the reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians. A Reuters witness present during the incident did not observe the Palestinians throwing stones.

Attacks have surged during the Palestinian olive harvest, which starts at the end of September and ends in November. The Israeli rights group Yesh Din reported at least 135 physical attacks on the olive harvest as of October 23.

Arab World

First Algerian Troops Arrive in Niger Where Extremists Threaten Stability

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
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First Algerian Troops Arrive in Niger Where Extremists Threaten Stability

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)
Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority. (Getty Images)

An Algerian army ‌convoy has arrived in Niger in Algeria's first foreign troop deployment since it sent forces to support Egypt during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Niger, like other countries in West Africa's Sahel region, is battling insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Algeria, which shares a border with Niger, has traditionally regarded stability in ‌the Sahel-Sahara ‌as an important regional security ‌priority.

⁠Energy is an ⁠important focus for Algeria in Niger, where Algerian state-run oil and gas firm Sonatrach has investments.

One major project, the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline with Niger and Nigeria, aims to deliver African gas to Europe ⁠and other international markets.

Reuters spoke ‌to 10 people ‌who said the first Algerian military convoy had ‌reached Arlit, a uranium mining town ‌in the country's northwest.

Algeria has said the decision to deploy troops was taken to protect the country's energy and economic interests, without disclosing ‌the size of the force or the timetable for their arrival.

Military ⁠officers ⁠have ruled Niger, which has uranium, oil and gold resources, since the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, which Algeria initially opposed.

Arab World

Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
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Houthis Suspected of Recruiting Children, Young Men Amid Surge in Disappearances in Sanaa

Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)
Human rights reports accuse the Houthis of recruiting more children. (Local media)

Disappearances of children and young men have surged in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa and its outskirts in recent weeks, fueling accusations that the Houthis are luring them into military camps, training them for combat and sending them to battlefronts without their families' knowledge or consent.

The cases have also raised fears among families of possible extortion, as authorities face accusations of failing to investigate the disappearances or disclose the fate of those missing.

Local human rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the unexplained disappearances have left residents increasingly alarmed, with children and young men vanishing from schools, streets and residential neighborhoods, sometimes without a trace.

Families have been left to search for their missing relatives on their own, turning to social media to appeal for information as Houthi-controlled security authorities ignore their reports, the sources said.

About 13 children and young men have disappeared from different parts of Sanaa since the start of October, the sources said. Most were aged between 15 and 23, and some were later found at Houthi military camps or on battlefronts after being lured into combat training without their families' knowledge or approval.

Hundreds of disappearances involving children and young men have been reported in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities since the beginning of the year, the sources said. Some families remain in the dark about their missing relatives' whereabouts.

The sources accused Houthi security authorities of ignoring families' reports and appeals, compounding their distress and leaving those missing vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment.

The latest cases, reported over the past two days, involve Amjad Noman al-Sarouhi, 16, who vanished from the al-Ansi neighborhood in central Sanaa's Maeen district, and Mukhtar Abdullah Hassan al-Rifai, 22, who went missing near the Haziz market on the capital's outskirts.

Lured into military camps

Families' accounts have deepened fears that disappearances are being used to funnel children and young men into Houthi military camps, amid accusations that Houthi supervisors and recruitment brokers are exploiting their social and economic hardships to draw them into combat.

In one case, a family spent five days searching neighborhoods and hospitals for a minor who disappeared from Sanaa two months ago, only to learn from a Houthi supervisor that he was at a military camp north of the city.

A relative told Asharq Al-Awsat that the supervisor confirmed Houthi members had lured the boy into the camp and put him through combat training without his family's knowledge.

The relative described five days of fear and anguish as the family searched for the boy, worried he might have been harmed, before discovering he had been taken to a Houthi camp and subjected to military training without their consent.

For Mujeeb, a Sanaa resident and father of four, the disappearances have turned even routine outings into a source of fear.

"We live in constant fear for our children. We no longer feel at ease even when one of them steps out to run a simple errand," he said.

"We fear a Houthi member or supervisor could lure them away or exploit their needs and difficult living conditions, leaving us facing a situation we are powerless to change."

Mujeeb said families wanted their children kept safe and allowed to pursue their education and lead normal lives, free from recruitment and being sent to battlefronts.