Until this week, the U.S. had refrained from retaliating against attacks on its bases in Iraq due to the sensitive political situation there. Iraq's Kataeb Hezbollah militia is a powerful armed group with close ties to Iran.
US troops in Iraq. Photo: Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has limited control over Kataeb Hezbollah, the force that helped him seize power a year ago and which wields considerable influence in the country.
The U.S. military said the attack on the evening of November 21 targeted two facilities in Iraq. The statement said: “The attacks were in direct response to attacks against U.S. forces by Iranian-backed groups.”
An unnamed U.S. defense official said the U.S. attack targeted and destroyed an operations center of the Kataeb Hezbollah group and a command and control center near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad.
The official said there were members of Kataeb Hezbollah at the bases at the time of the attack, and an assessment of casualties is underway.
U.S. officials said that about 24 hours earlier, a U.S. air base west of Baghdad had been attacked, and a U.S. military AC-130 responded in self-defense, killing several militants.
Two U.S. officials said the Ain al-Asad air base was struck by a short-range ballistic missile, injuring eight people and causing minor damage to infrastructure.
The U.S. has suffered 66 attacks targeting its forces in Iraq and Syria over the past month in connection with the fighting in Gaza. At least 62 U.S. soldiers were injured in these attacks.
The U.S. has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission to advise and support local forces trying to contain the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
Hoang Nam (according to Reuters)
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