U.S. forces carry out series of strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq

Reuters:

WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 21-The United States carried out two series of strikes in Iraq against Iranian-backed militants, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, in the first publicly reported U.S. responses in Iraq to dozens of recent attacks against troops in the region.

Until this week, the United States had been reluctant to retaliate in Iraq because of the delicate political situation there.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has limited control over the Iranian-backed militias, whose support he needed to win power a year ago and who now form a powerful bloc in his governing coalition.

The strike on Tuesday evening targeted two facilities in Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement.

“The strikes were in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups,” the statement said.

The strike by fighter aircraft targeted and destroyed a Kataeb Hezbollah operations center and a Kataeb Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah militia is a powerful armed faction with close ties to Iran.

The official said there were Kataeb Hezbollah personnel present, but an assessment was ongoing about casualties.

About 24 hours earlier, U.S. forces were attacked at an air base west of Baghdad and a U.S. military AC-130 aircraft responded in self-defense, killing a number of Iranian-backed militants, U.S. officials said.