A few hours after US servicemen were hurt in a drone strike on a US airbase in Iraq, the US military launched an assault against insurgent organizations with Iranian backing.
According to the US Defense Chief, three locations frequented by Kataib Hezbollah and other organizations were targeted in retaliation for attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq.
Iraq denounced the US bombings as a “clear hostile act”.
In recent years, US targets in Iraq and Syria have been linked to extremist groups on multiple occasions.
Iraq said that the US bombings resulted in one fatality and eighteen injuries, including civilians.
President Joe Biden approved the strike, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who described it as “necessary and proportionate”.
Three US military personnel were hurt in the previous drone hit on a US base in Irbil, in the Kurdistan area of Iraq; one of them was gravely hurt, according to US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
An organization affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq militia collective, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iranian-affiliated militia has already launched rocket attacks on the Irbil airbase. Iran provides financial and military support to Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most well-known organizations attacking US targets in Iraq. It is a component of the Hashd al Shaabi (Popular Mobilization), a militia umbrella organization that has been incorporated into the Iraqi military.
Iraq is an ally of the United States and Iran, two powerful adversaries of one another. In response to the Iraqi government’s invitation, the US has stationed roughly 2,500 soldiers there to stop the Islamic State (IS) organization from making a comeback. Approximately 900 US military soldiers are stationed in northeastern Syria to combat IS, despite the Syrian government’s view that their presence is unlawful.
