US says it carried out Iraq strike, killed pro-Iran commander
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Members of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces - of which Harakat al-Nujaba is a faction - hold signs identifying the group's slain commander, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi, during his funeral in Baghdad.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - An American strike killed a pro-Iran commander in Iraq who was involved in attacks on Washington’s troops, a United States defence official said on Jan 4.
“This strike was taken in self-defence. No civilians were harmed. No infrastructure or facilities were struck,” the official said in a statement.
It targeted a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba – a pro-Iran armed organisation in Iraq – who was “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel”, the official said, adding that it also killed another of the group’s members.
The strike comes amid heightened regional tensions linked to the war between US ally Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on Oct 7
Following the attack, the US rushed military aid to Israel, which has carried out a relentless campaign in Gaza
Those deaths have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for violence against American troops
The US has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the multinational coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, militant group since 2014. REUTERS
Members of Iraq’s paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces – of which Harakat al-Nujaba is a faction – carrying the bodies of their slain comrades during their funeral in Baghdad.
PHOTO: AFP
