American strikes in Iraq killed a member of a pro-Iran armed group on Tuesday, with Baghdad denouncing a “hostile act” in a context of regional tensions.
At least one member of a pro-Iran Iraqi faction was killed and 24 injured in these strikes against three sites in Iraq, Iraqi security sources told AFP.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previously announced in a statement that the US military had carried out airstrikes against three sites of pro-Iranian groups in Iraq.
Questioned by AFP, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said a strike had targeted a Hachd al-Chaabi site in Hilla, capital of Babylon province, south of Baghdad, killing one person. and 20 injured.
Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of factions of former Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries close to Iran, is now integrated into the regular Iraqi forces.
Four people were injured in a second strike in Wassit (south), the official added.
“The targeting of Iraqi military sites by the American side is considered a hostile act”reacted the Iraqi government in a press release.
According to him, the strikes left one dead and injured. “18 people, including civilians”. They “harm bilateral relations” and represent “an unacceptable attack on sovereignty” Iraqi.
“The Great Satan”
Hadi al-Amiri, a Hashd leader, denounced the US attack on Telegram, demanding that “The Iraqi government sets a timetable for the departure of foreign troops (from Iraq) as soon as possible.”
In the early afternoon, dozens of people participated in the funeral of the slain fighter in Baghdad, shouting “No, No to America” And “America, the great Satan”according to an AFP photographer on site.
The crowd, which started from a mosque in the Iraqi capital, notably brandished flags of Hachd al-Chaabi and photos of General Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds force, responsible for external operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, killed in a US raid in Iraq on January 3, 2020.
According to a press release from Mr. Austin, the American army has “carried out necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq.”
These strikes are “a response to a series of attacks against American personnel in Iraq and Syria carried out by militias supported by Iran, including that of Kataeb Hezbollah, against the air base of Erbil (north)”he said.
The Hezbollah Brigades have been considered a terrorist organization by the State Department since 2009.
Multiplication of attacks
The attack in Erbil injured three American personnel on Monday, one of them seriously, according to Washington.
It was carried out using an explosive drone and was claimed by the group called Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a nebula of fighters from pro-Iran armed groups, also linked to Hachd al-Chaabi.
Attacks attributed to pro-Iranian groups against American troops have increased in Iraq and neighboring Syria since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7.
According to an American official who requested anonymity, several rockets were fired Tuesday morning against the international anti-jihadist coalition base led by the United States in Shaddadi, in northeastern Syria. There were no casualties or damage, he said.
At least 105 attacks against American targets in Syria and Iraq have been recorded by Washington since mid-October, according to him. The majority were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group, which denounces American support for Israel.
ADVERTISEMENTWashington is deploying around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and 900 in Syria, as part of a system intended to fight against a possible resurgence of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
The war between Israel and Hamas, in power in Gaza, was triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented bloody attack on Israeli soil by the Palestinian Islamist movement, which is supported by Iran.
