Two killed in US attack on Iranian-backed militants, Iraqi authorities say

Publication of: 2024/01/24 – 01:14change: 2024/01/24 – 08:59

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The airstrike came days after U.S. forces in western Iraq were targeted by ballistic missiles and rockets in an attack that the Pentagon blamed on Tehran-backed militants.

Iraqi sources said the U.S. airstrikes targeted Hezbollah brigades, an affiliate of Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), a coalition of Iran-backed former militias now integrated into Iraq’s regular army. It is said that

They attacked positions in the Jurf al-Sakhr area south of Baghdad and the al-Qaim area on the Syrian border.

An interior ministry official and a former member of Hashd al-Shaabi said two people were killed and two others injured in the shelling in the al-Qaim area.

The US offensive comes against the backdrop of an already explosive regional situation, accelerated by the war in Gaza between US ally Israel and the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Austin said in a statement that the U.S. military conducted “necessary and appropriate strikes” against “three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Ketaab Hezbollah militia (Hezbollah Brigades) and other Iranian-affiliated groups in Iraq.” He said he went.

“These precision strikes are part of a series of escalating attacks by Iranian-backed militias against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria,” he said, referring to the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS). This is a direct response.”

The US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria has been the target of more than 150 attacks since mid-October, many of them by a loose alliance of Iranian-linked groups opposed to US support for Israel in the Gaza Strip. claimed by Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Movement. Conflict.

“Violation of sovereignty”

The US military has carried out numerous airstrikes against the groups responsible, prompting a backlash from Iraq. Iraq has accused the coalition of deviating from its mission to support operations against IS jihadists and has called for its withdrawal.

National Security Adviser Qasem al-Araj said Wednesday’s airstrike was yet another “clear violation of Iraq’s sovereignty” and “will not help bring peace.”

“The US side should increase pressure to stop[Israel’s]attacks in Gaza, instead of targeting and bombing Iraqi state institutions’ bases,” Alazi wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He mentioned Hashd al-Islam in his post. Shaabi.

After earlier US airstrikes, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called on the US-led coalition in Iraq to withdraw, saying the deployment must end to ensure Iraq’s security.

Approximately 2,500 US troops are stationed in Iraq, and approximately 900 US troops are stationed in neighboring Syria.

The U.S. military said the attack targeted the Hezbollah Brigade’s “command, storage, and training sites for rocket, missile, and one-way attack UAV (drone) capabilities.”

The brigade has been classified as a “terrorist” group by the US government and subject to US sanctions, and has already been the target of US attacks in recent weeks. The group openly supports the Islamic Resistance Movement in Iraq.

Late Tuesday, several drones targeted an Iraqi air base housing American troops, causing injuries and damage, U.S. military officials said.

“Multiple attack drones were launched” at the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, a US military official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to confidentiality reasons.

“Latest reports include injuries and damage to infrastructure,” the official said, adding that details were not yet known.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security officials said a drone attempting to target the base was shot down.

Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Group claimed responsibility for two drone attacks on bases on Tuesday and said in a statement that it was acting in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, the same base was targeted by at least a dozen missiles.

White House national security adviser John Finer said the attack was “very serious” and involved “ballistic missiles that pose a real threat.”

(AFP)