US retaliates against militant targets in Iraq

U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked by militant groups about 150 times since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, putting pressure on President Joe Biden to respond militarily, despite the politically sensitive situation in Baghdad.

U.S. Army soldiers in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Getty

Last Saturday, four American employees suffered traumatic brain injuries after the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by insurgents.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement: “U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Kataib Hezbollah militia… in Iraq.”

“These precision strikes were in direct response to an escalating series of attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Mr. Austin added.

US Central Command, which conducts operations in the Middle East, said the strikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah's headquarters, missile and drone storage and training sites.

In Iraq, a medical source and a militant source said that U.S. airstrikes killed at least two militants and wounded four others.

Kataib Hezbollah military spokesman Jaafar al-Husseini said in a post on X that the group would continue targeting "enemy bases" until the Israeli siege of Gaza ends and accused the US of supporting Israel's campaign.

The attacks on the US were seen as retaliation for its support for Israel in its war against the militant group Hamas. The war in Gaza has widened, with US forces striking Houthi targets, the rebel group that has launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to stop the rise of Islamic State, which seized large parts of both countries in 2014 before being defeated.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/my-tan-cong-tra-dua-cac-muc-tieu-phien-quan-o-iraq-post282238.html