US Response in Self-Defense Killing Iranian-Backed Militants

 

Iraqi mourners in Baghdad carry the coffin of a Kataeb Hezbollah fighter who was also part of the 'Islamic resistance in Iraq,' which has claimed recent attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria, and who is believed to have died in a US air strike.  Image from MSN

UPDATE:  Iraq Condemns US Strikes South of Baghdad, says were not coordinated with Iraqi authorities

Since Oct. 17, the day hundreds were killed in a Gaza hospital blast, US bases in Iraq and Syria have been struck 66 times. Secretary Blinken spoke with Iraqi officials about the continued attacks on bases that house lUS troops. 

In a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty, the Iraqi government condemned overnight US strikes on targets south of Baghdad.

Government officials said the strikes violated the international coalition's mission to fight Daesh.

In retaliation for repeated attacks on American troops, US fighter jets struck two targets in Iraq early Wednesday, killing eight pro-Iran fighters.

A short-range ballistic missile was used against US troops during Tuesday's attacks on US bases, according to two US defense officials.

The US fighter jets struck Kataib Hezbollah operations center and a Kataib Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al-Anbar and Jurf Al-Saqr, south of Baghdad, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide additional sensitive details of the attacks. Kataib Hezbollah personnel were present at both sites during the strikes, but officials did not know if anyone died.

The US strike followed another immediate, unplanned retaliatory strike by an AC-130 gunship that was in the air when Iranian-backed militants fired two short-range ballistic missiles at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq late Monday evening. As the gunship located the source of the missiles, it fired on several militants fleeing in a vehicle.

According to the officials, the US is trying to convey that it does not seek broader conflict but that Iran-backed attacks against American forces must stop and that it will take further action if necessary.

Since Oct. 17, the day hundreds were killed in a Gaza hospital blast, US bases in Iraq and Syria have been struck 66 times.

UPDATE:  SECOND ROUND OF ATTACKS:

In just over 24 hours, US warplanes have struck targets in Iraq, marking the second round of US airstrikes in the country.

The airstrikes hit two facilities south of Baghdad used by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia aligned with Iran. Officials did not provide information about casualties.

The strikes came after an AC-130 gunship targeted people in Iraq it said was responsible for a ballistic missile attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad. US officials said three militants were killed.

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia said five of its members were killed.  The number of deaths has not yet been updated. 

ORIGINAL NEWS POST:

A U.S. military aircraft responded in self-defense to an attack on an air base west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing a number of Iranian-backed militants.

An attack by a close-range ballistic missile on Ain al-Asad air base resulted in eight injuries and minor damage to infrastructure, according to two U.S. officials.

US aircraft responded by hitting an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of personnel involved in the attack with an AC-130 aircraft already in the air, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

By monitoring the militants' movements, the aircraft could determine their point of origin and strike.

It is the first public retaliation on Iraqi territory against militant drone and missile attacks on U.S. troops, but Singh said there had been previous responses.

There have been three separate sets of strikes by the United States in Syria in response to the 66 attacks against its forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria, claimed by Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups.

62 U.S. personnel have suffered minor injuries or traumatic brain injuries.

Iraqi militia groups have linked the attacks to U.S. support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 17.

A year-long unilateral truce between Iraqi factions, some formed after the 2003 U.S. invasion to fight U.S. troops and others in 2014 to fight Islamic State, has been ended following the attacks on U.S. targets.

"Islamic Resistance in Iraq" social media accounts published a statement on Tuesday mourning the death of a member killed in a battle against U.S. forces without elaborating.

He is the first Iraqi casualty linked to Iran's Gaza war, which has drawn other factions of Iran's Axis of Resistance, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, into the conflict.

The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission to assist local forces in preventing a resurgence of Islamic State, which seized large swaths of both countries in 2014.