Until this week, the US had refrained from retaliating against attacks on its bases in Iraq because of the sensitive political situation there. Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah militia is a powerful armed faction with close ties to Iran.
US troops in Iraq. Photo: Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has limited control over the Kataeb Hezbollah force, which helped him seize power a year ago and is now a major influence in the country.
The US military said the attack on the evening of November 21 targeted two facilities in Iraq. “The strikes were in direct response to attacks against US forces by Iranian-backed groups,” the statement said.
The US strike targeted and destroyed a Kataeb Hezbollah operations center and a command and control post near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad, an unnamed US defense official said.
The official said there were members of Kataeb Hezbollah at the bases at the time of the attack, and that casualty assessments were underway.
About 24 hours earlier, a US air base west of Baghdad was attacked and a US military AC-130 gunship responded in self-defense, killing several militants, US officials said.
Ain al-Asad air base was hit by a short-range ballistic missile that injured eight people and caused minor damage to infrastructure, two US officials said.
The United States has suffered 66 attacks on its forces in Iraq and Syria over the past month in connection with the Gaza conflict. At least 62 American service members have been injured in the attacks.
The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to stop the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
Hoang Nam (according to Reuters)
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