US launches strikes on Iraq in response to drone attack blamed on Iran-allied forces | Conflict news

Baghdad condemns the strikes that led to the death of a member of the Iraqi security forces and the injury of 18 others, describing them as “hostile” acts.

The Iraqi government condemned the air strikes carried out by the US military on its territory, describing them as “hostile acts” after the Pentagon said it struck sites used by pro-Iranian forces to target US forces.

The government in Baghdad said on Tuesday that the US strikes killed a member of the Iraqi security forces and wounded 18 people, including civilians, describing it as an “unacceptable attack on Iraqi sovereignty” and “harmful to bilateral relations.”

US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that the US air strikes, which began early Tuesday, targeted three sites used by Kataib Hezbollah, a Shiite armed group, and its affiliated groups.

This was in response to the Kataib Hezbollah attack the previous day on the Erbil air base that injured three American soldiers, one of them in serious condition, according to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Austin said the “necessary and proportionate” strikes were intended to “disable and degrade” the capabilities of Iran-aligned groups responsible for attacks against American personnel.

today in @potosIn this direction, US military forces carried out necessary and proportionate strikes on 3 facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and its affiliated groups in Iraq. These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against American personnel in Iraq and Syria by…

-Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) December 26, 2023

“Although we do not seek to escalate the conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further actions necessary to protect our people and facilities,” Austin said.

“Defending our interests”

US forces have repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its loyal forces in Iraq and Syria in response to dozens of attacks on US and allied forces in the region since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war on October 7.

US officials said on Tuesday that the US military would continue to respond if US forces were targeted.

“The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing if these attacks continue,” Watson said.

“Let me be clear — the president and I will not hesitate to take action to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests,” Austin said. There is no higher priority.”

US Central Command said initial assessments of the US military's recent strikes indicate that they destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed several Kataib Hezbollah fighters, without killing any civilians.

These strikes are the latest indication of the extent to which the Israeli war in Gaza has repercussions across the Middle East, where there is widespread anger over the high Palestinian death toll.

Palestinian officials say more than 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 others wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise attack on southern Israel. The average death toll from the Hamas attack is 1,139.

US officials reported at least 103 attacks against their forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.

Iran has not commented on the recent strikes, but has previously denied directing proxy groups to attack US forces in the region.