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A member of Kataib Hezbollah at the scene of a previous US strike (in December 2023)

Photo: Alaa Al-Marjani / REUTERS

The US military has responded to an attack by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq with air strikes.

Three facilities that were used by the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq were attacked from the air, the responsible regional command of the US military announced on Platform

The target of the counterattack was a militia headquarters as well as storage and training facilities for rockets, missiles and attack drones, it said.

A few days ago, pro-Iranian militias fired several rockets at the Ain Al-Assad military base used by the USA.

Most of the rockets were intercepted by the base's air defense, while others hit the base.

Four US soldiers were injured.

"US forces conducted necessary and appropriate attacks on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iran-aligned groups in Iraq," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement about the counterstrikes.

"These precision strikes are a direct response to a series of escalating attacks against US and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias."

According to US media reports, around 2,500 US soldiers are currently stationed at several locations in Iraq.

During the Iraq War in 2003 and the following years up to 2011, Ain al-Assad west of the capital Baghdad was one of the largest US military bases in the country.

The base has been attacked several times in the past by the Islamic State terrorist militia, but also by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

In response to Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, pro-Iranian militias have increased their attacks on US military bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria in recent weeks.

Because of the Gaza war, which began with the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, the security situation in the entire region is tense.

The troops of the USA - Israel's most important ally - are also in the sights of pro-Iranian militias.

Iran wants to use them to create an “axis of resistance” against Israel.

In recent weeks they have increased their attacks on US bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

phw/dpa/AP