A senior leader of a militia responsible for recent attacks on American personnel was killed in a U.S. Special Operations retaliatory drone strike in the Iraqi capital, according to the Pentagon. The strike targeted a leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the militia behind the drone attack in Jordan last month that killed three American service members and injured more than 40. The U.S. officials had been tracking the militia commander for some time and reserved the right to strike other Shiite militia leaders and commanders. Videos from the scene showed the wreckage of a vehicle in a neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, and a nearby fire. The strike was met with opposition from Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, with crowds gathering in the streets of Baghdad chanting “America is the devil.” Iraq’s security services also condemned the strike, calling it an aggression that violated Iraqi sovereignty and risked dangerous repercussions in the region. The strike came after three quieter days in the Mideast, following American salvos on Friday and Saturday that began what Mr. Biden and his aides have said will be a sustained campaign of retaliation. The Pentagon reported that American warplanes had destroyed or severely damaged most of the Iranian and militia targets they had struck in Syria and Iraq on Friday. Kata’ib Hezbollah, based in Iraq, is considered a proxy of Iran, and the United States considers the group a terrorist organization. U.S. officials blame Iran and the militias aligned with it for a near-daily barrage of rocket and drone attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. The Biden administration has sought to calibrate retaliatory airstrikes to deter such groups while avoiding a wider war. After a drone attack hit a remote base in Jordan on Jan. 28, killing three American service members, administration officials said that a red line had been crossed, and Mr. Biden promised a sustained campaign of retaliation. After that strike, Kata’ib Hezbollah said it would halt attacks on American forces, at the behest of the…
2024-02-07 22:12:07
Original from www.nytimes.com