The United States conducted two series of airstrikes in Iraq against militia groups with ties to Iran, marking the first publicly acknowledged U.S. responses to a recent surge in attacks on American and coalition forces in the region. Prior to this, the U.S. had refrained from retaliation in Iraq due to the complex political situation.
The strikes, carried out on Tuesday evening, targeted two facilities in Iraq. The U.S. military stated that these actions were a direct response to attacks by Iran and Iran-backed groups on U.S. and coalition forces. Fighter aircraft were used to destroy a Kataeb Hezbollah operations center and a Kataeb Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al Anbar and Jurf al Saqr, south of Baghdad.
Kataeb Hezbollah is a powerful militia in Iraq with close ties to Iran. The U.S. defense official mentioned that there were Kataeb Hezbollah personnel present during the strike, but an assessment of casualties was ongoing.
Approximately 24 hours before these strikes, U.S. forces at Ain al-Asad air base, west of Baghdad, were attacked. In self-defense, a U.S. military AC-130 aircraft responded, resulting in the deaths of several Iranian-backed militants. The attack on Ain al-Asad air base with a close-range ballistic missile caused eight injuries and minor damage to infrastructure. The United States conducted
The U.S. had previously responded to the 66 attacks on its forces in Iraq and Syria, attributed to Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups, with three separate sets of strikes in Syria. These attacks, which began on October 17, have been linked by Iraqi militia groups to U.S. support for Israel during the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The attacks have effectively ended a year-long unilateral truce declared by Iraqi factions in response to various geopolitical events. Social media accounts associated with Iran-aligned Iraqi militias reported the death of a member in a battle against U.S. forces on Tuesday without providing further details.