Enlarge image
Destroyed car in Baghdad
Photo: Hadi Mizban / AP
The US military said it responded again with a counterstrike in Iraq around a week and a half after the fatal attack on US soldiers in Jordan. A commander of the pro-Iranian militia Kataib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) was killed, the responsible regional command of the US military announced on Wednesday on the X platform, formerly Twitter. He is responsible for "direct planning and participation in attacks on US forces in the region."
The US military said there is currently no evidence of collateral damage or civilian casualties. "We will not hesitate to hold accountable all those who endanger the security of our armed forces."
US media reported that at least three members of Kataib Hezbollah were killed in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. According to current information, the target was Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi, who led the militia’s operations in Syria.
The attack apparently targeted a single vehicle on one of the city's main streets. Photos show a destroyed SUV and a large number of onlookers. The heavily secured Green Zone, where numerous diplomatic missions are located, has been sealed off. It is still unclear whether the Iraqi government was informed in advance about the precision strike.
Since the start of the Gaza war, pro-Iranian militias have carried out almost daily attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. On January 28, three US soldiers were killed in one of the attacks in Jordan near the Syrian border. The USA has already responded to this with extensive air strikes against positions of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria.
After US attacks in Syria and Iraq, Damascus reported fatalities and "significant damage" over the weekend. Syrian state media quoted a military statement as saying that "a number of civilians and soldiers were killed" and others were injured in the nighttime attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights previously said at least 18 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in attacks in eastern Syria.
Iran speaks of an “adventurous mistake”
It goes on to say that the Syrian army is determined to “free the entire Syrian territory from terrorism and occupation.” The Foreign Ministry in Damascus also condemned the attacks. The US's actions have helped fuel the conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way, Reuters quoted a statement as saying.
The government of Iraq reported 16 dead and 25 injured and condemned the attacks as a "new aggression against Iraqi sovereignty." Around 900 soldiers are still stationed in Syria in the fight against the jihadist militia “Islamic State” and around 2,500 in Iraq.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the nightly US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as a "violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the countries. The attacks are "another adventurous and strategic mistake by the United States that will only lead to more tension and instability in the region."
jok/dpa