On Wednesday, the military said an American air strike in Iraq killed a senior commander from a pro-Iran armed group who was involved in attacks on US troops in the region.
Following the killing of three American troops in neighboring Jordan on January 28, Washington launched a wave of strikes on Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria last week.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the commander killed Wednesday was targeted in response to the attacks on US service members.
According to CENTCOM, the strike killed a Kataeb Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region, and there are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time.
“The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces’ safety”, CENTCOM stated.
A member of Kataeb Hezbollah, which announced a suspension of hostilities against US personnel following the deadly Jordan strike, verified the death of Abu Baqr al-Saadi, a commander in charge of the ‘military file’ in Syria.
The Hashed al-Shaabi, a group of primarily pro-Iran paramilitaries now integrated into Iraq’s formal security forces, confirmed Saadi’s death in a statement.
An interior ministry official stated three people were killed in the drone strike in the Machtal neighborhood of east Baghdad: two Kataeb Hezbollah leaders and their driver.
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