Three people were killed Wednesday in a drone strike targeting a vehicle in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
In a statement, the U.S. Middle East military command, Centcom, wrote that it “conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kataeb Hezbollah commander responsible for planning and direct participation in attacks against U.S. forces in the region.”
For his part, a security official confirmed that “a drone fired three rockets against a 4×4 car” in the Machtal neighborhood, in eastern Baghdad, killing two leaders of the Hezbollah Brigades. This pro-Iran Iraqi armed group has participated in dozens of attacks carried out in recent months against American troops and those of the international anti-jihadist coalition.
American retaliation after the death of three soldiers
Nearly a week ago, the United States carried out strikes in Syria and Iraq against elite Iranian forces and pro-Iran armed groups, in retaliation for the January 28 drone attack that killed three American soldiers stationed at an American base in the Jordanian desert on the Syrian border. For weeks, Iraq has not been able to extricate itself from regional tensions, despite its intense diplomatic efforts, in particular with its American and Iranian partners.
Since mid-October, more than 165 attacks have targeted U.S. troops and their international anti-jihadist coalition partners in Iraq and Syria. Most were claimed by a nebula of pro-Iranian armed groups called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
Faced with the threat of an American response after the attack in Jordan, the Hezbollah Brigades announced at the end of January “the suspension” of their attacks against American forces, while calling on their fighters to “practice passive defense in the event of hostile American action against them.”
Classified as a “terrorist” group by Washington and targeted by sanctions, the Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah in Arabic) have already been targeted in recent weeks by American strikes in Iraq. Officials in Washington assured that the drone attack in Jordan bore “the imprint of Kataeb Hezbollah.”
Speaking to ambassadors stationed in Tehran ahead of the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday there was no “justification” for maintaining U.S. troops in the Middle East. -East, where they represent “a security threat.”