An Iraqi militia official has hinted at a desire to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East following retaliatory strikes launched by the US against dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesman for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, condemned the US strikes, saying Washington “must understand that every action elicits a reaction”. But he then struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that “we do not wish to escalate or widen regional tensions”.

Mossawi, speaking during in an interview with the Associated Press in Baghdad, said the targeted sites in Iraq were mainly “devoid of fighters and military personnel at the time of the attack”.

Suggesting there was not too much damage could allow him to justify the lack of a strong response.

CENTCOM Statement on U.S. Strikes in Iraq and Syria

At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces… pic.twitter.com/HeLMFDx9zY

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 2, 2024

Syrian state media reported that there were casualties from the strikes but did not give a number. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 23 people were killed in the Syria strikes, all rank-and-file fighters.

Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said in a statement on Saturday that the strikes in Iraq near the Syrian border killed 16, including civilians, and there was “significant damage” to homes and private properties.

Iraq’s foreign ministry announced it would summon the US embassy’s charge d’affaires — the ambassador being outside of the country — to deliver a formal protest over US strikes on “Iraqi military and civilian sites”.

The air assault was the opening salvo of US retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last weekend. The US has blamed that on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias.

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

Iraqi spokesperson Mr al-Awadi condemned the strikes as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, particularly since some of them targeted facilities of the Population Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

The PMF, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, was officially brought under the umbrella of the Iraqi armed forces after it joined the fight against the so-called Islamic State in 2014, but in practice it continues to operate largely outside of state control.

The PMF said in a statement on Saturday that one of the sites targeted was an official security headquarters of the group. In addition to 16 killed, it said 36 had been wounded, “while the search is still ongoing for the bodies of a number of the missing”.

The Iraqi government has been in a delicate position since a group of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias calling itself Islamic Resistance in Iraq — many of whose members are also part of the PMF — began launching attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria on October 18.

The group described the strikes as retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

Iraqi officials have attempted behind the scenes to rein in the militias, while also condemning US retaliatory strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and calling for an exit of the 2,500 US troops in the country as part of an international coalition to fight IS.

Last month, Iraqi and US military officials launched formal talks to wind down the coalition’s presence, a process that will probably take years.

One of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops following Sunday’s strike that killed the US troops in Jordan, to avoid “embarrassing” the Iraqi government.

US President Joe Biden had made it clear in a statement that there will be more strikes to come.

“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” warned Mr Biden, adding: “Let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”

He and other top US leaders had been saying for days that any American response would not be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the targets “were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear, irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on US personnel in the region”.

The strikes took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, said Lt Gen Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff.

US Central Command said the assault involved more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States.

Lt Gen Sims said weather was a factor as the US planned the strikes in order to allow the US to confirm it was hitting the right targets and avoiding civilian casualties.

Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces.

We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.

But to all those who seek to do us harm: We will respond.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 2, 2024

Iran-backed militia groups throughout the region have used the conflict to justify striking Israeli or US interests, including threatening civilian commercial ships and US warships in the Red Sea region with drones or missiles in almost daily exchanges.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, defence secretary Lloyd Austin said “this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East”. He said the US will take all necessary actions to defend its interests and people, and warned: “At this point, it’s time to take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past.”

The US, meanwhile, has bolstered defences at Tower 22, the base in Jordan that was attacked by Iran-backed militants, according to a US official. While previous US responses in Iraq and Syria have been more limited, the deaths of the three service members in Jordan crossed a line, the official said.

That attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely army national guard — was the first to result in US combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.

Tower 22 houses about 350 US troops and sits near the demilitarised zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi border is only six miles away.