Reuters - Russia�s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that U.S. air strikes on Iraq and Syria were unacceptable and counterproductive, and urged all sides to avoid fuelling tensions in the region.

The U.S. military carried out the strikes against an Iranian-backed militia group on Sunday in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.

Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Kevin Liffey