The Pentagon said the US strike took place at around 09:00 GMT on Thursday and targeted Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al Jawari, adding that he was the leader of Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba - a militia group accused of being involved in planning and carrying out attacks on US personnel in Iraq.
Members of an Iraqi Shi'ite armed group guard a militia headquarters after an attack in Baghdad, Iraq on January 4, 2024. Photo: Reuters
What is Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba?
The Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba militia is distinct from Kataib Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group active in Iraq and more often targeted by the US. Nujaba is supported by Hezbollah in Lebanon and operates as part of the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East.
“The strike also killed another member of Harakat al Nujaba,” said Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, describing it as a self-defense attack. “No civilians were harmed. No infrastructure or facilities were hit.”
Iraqi police sources and witnesses earlier said a drone fired at least two rockets at the eastern Baghdad headquarters of the Nujaba militia group.
Police and militia sources said the missile hit a vehicle in the compound, killing four people, including a militia commander and one of his aides. Video posted by pro-rebel websites showed a vehicle engulfed in flames.
Fighters from the Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba militia march in Baghdad on May 31, 2019. Photo: AFP
Rebel groups in Iraq and Syria have denounced Israel's offensive in Gaza and said the US bears some responsibility. In a statement, the military spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani denounced the attack on the group, calling it an "unjustified attack on an Iraqi security entity."
Asked whether the US military had struck a member of the Iraqi security forces, General Ryder said the individual targeted was the leader of a militia group responsible for attacks on US personnel.
More than 100 attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria
Iraqi militia commanders vowed to avenge Thursday’s attack. “We will retaliate and make the Americans regret this act of aggression,” said Abu Aqeel al-Moussawi, a local Iraqi militia commander.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, US troops have been attacked more than 100 times in Iraq and Syria, often by a combination of missiles and suicide drones.
The US has 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria focused on preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
Last month, the US carried out retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq after a drone attack by a militant group left one US serviceman in critical condition and two others injured.
Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)
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