Commander of Iran-backed militia accused of killing US troops is killed in US drone strike in Baghdad – The Sun
A US drone strike has killed an Iranian-backed militia commander in Baghdad.
The strike is believed to have caused fatalities a key member of the Kata'ib Hezbollah militia on Wednesday evening.
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The Iranian-backed militia is believed to have been responsible for a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last month.
A statement from US Central Command confirmed it had launched a “unilateral attack” that killed the commander responsible for the unprecedented attack.
It said: “On February 7 at 9:30 p.m., U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a unilateral attack in Iraq in response to attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kata'ib Hezbollah commander responsible for the direct planning and participation in attacks against the US. forces in the region.
'There is no evidence of additional damage or civilian casualties at this time.
“The United States will continue to take the necessary steps to protect our people.
“We will not hesitate to hold accountable anyone who threatens the security of our armed forces.”
Sergeant William Rivers, 46, Specialist Kennedy Sanders, 24, and Specialist Breonna Moffett, 23, were killed in the attack. attack on the Tower 22 base in Jordaninjuring another 34.
The attack marked the first American deaths from enemy fire since the start of the war Israel-Hamas war – a major escalation of the crisis manifesting itself throughout the region.
The US Department of Defense said the drone strike showed signs of an extremist group with access to Iranian weapons.
President Joe Biden had previously pledged to “respond” to the attack.
He said last week: “Last night, three US service members were killed – and many injured – during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our troops stationed in northeastern Jordan, near the border with Syria.
“While we are still gathering the facts about this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iranian-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
Who are Kata'ib Hezbollah?
KATA'IB Hezbollah is a radical Shia paramilitary group based in southern Iraq.
The group, also known as the Hezbollah Brigades, emerged in the early 2000s and has been blamed for violence across Iraq.
It has close ties with Iran's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran's terrorist army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The group is also affiliated with the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Force), an alliance of Iranian-backed former paramilitary groups that have now been integrated into Iraq's regular armed forces.
With around 10,000 members, the group is responsible for attacks on US targets in Iraq and Syria, killing hundreds of soldiers.
Its leader Ahmad al-Hamidawi was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2020.
The Pentagon believes that a drone strike on a US base near the Syria-Jordan border on January 28, which killed three personnel, bore the group's “footprints”.