WASHINGTON – The US military launched an airstrike in Iraq that killed a leader of an Iranian proxy group responsible for recent attacks on American troops in the Middle East, officials said Thursday.
The strike in Baghdad targeted a vehicle carrying Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, a high-ranking commander of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba – a US-designated terrorist organization based in Iraq and backed by Tehran.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) – an Iranian-backed militia group nominally under the control of the Iraqi army – said al-Saidi, also known as “Abu Taqwa,” had been killed “as a result of a brutal American invasion” in a statement. after the strike.
The group is believed to be responsible for at least some of the more than 100 drone and missile attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq since October 17, ten days after the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Dozens of American soldiers were injured in the attack, although most of the injuries were minor, according to the Pentagon.
Members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces carry a coffin at the funeral of commander Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi after he was killed in a US airstrike on January 4, 2023. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images A police vehicle at the scene of a drone strike in Baghdad. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
“These individuals were actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel,” said Air Force Brig. General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters, “and as we have long said, we retain the inherent right to self-defense and we will take the necessary actions to protect our personnel.”
Another person, described by Ryder as an “associate” of al-Saidi, was also killed in the attack, and five others were wounded, officials said.
The move could affect the US military position in Iraq, with the attack coming a week after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani – who is backed by a political faction linked to Iran – said that Baghdad “is proceeding to end the presence of the international coalition.” team.”
After the end of the Iraq War, coalition forces remained in the country at the invitation of Baghdad to advise Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS, which continues to launch periodic attacks in Iraq despite losing the last of its declared “caliphate” in 2017.
Another member was killed in the attack and five others were injured, according to officials. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images A member of the PMF cries at the funeral of a dead leader. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
The Iraqi military blamed the International Coalition Forces for “unprovoked attacks on Iraqi security forces operating under authority.” [Iraq] given to him,” Iraqi military spokesman Yehia Rasool said in a statement.
Outside of Harakat Hezbollah, al-Saidi has also served in senior roles in the PMF.
Thursday was the second time in less than two weeks that the US launched strikes against Iranian-backed targets in Iraq.
On Christmas Day, President Biden ordered a counterattack after three US soldiers were injured – one critically – in a drone attack by Iran-backed terrorists on an American base earlier that day.
Thursday’s attack also came two days after a suspected Israeli drone strike in the suburbs of Beirut killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh Arouri.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
