US launches airstrikes on militia groups in Iraq after attack on troops

Biden called for the attacks on Iranian-backed groups after three US military personnel were injured in a drone attack in Iraq.

LAST UPDATE | 26 Dec 2023

US PRESIDENT JOE Biden ordered retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three US service personnel were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.

National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the US troops suffered critical injuries in the attack yesterday.

The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack on Erbil Air Base.

According to US Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on the three sites in the early hours of this morning “destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants”.

In a statement, the Iraqi government warned that such attacks “infringe upon Iraq’s sovereignty and are deemed unacceptable under any circumstances or justification”.

Iraqi military sites were targeted by the American side justifying the act as a response,” the Iraqi government said, adding it “resulted in the martyrdom of one service member and the injury of 18 others, including civilians”

“This constitutes a clear hostile act.

“It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq.”

After defence secretary Lloyd Austin and the national security team presented him with options, Biden directed strikes against three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups.

Austin said: “The President and I will not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops and our interests. There is no higher priority.

While we do not seek to escalate conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities.

Thousands of US troops are in Iraq training the country’s forces and combating remnants of the Islamic State group, as well as hundreds in Syria.

The latest attack on US troops follows months of escalating threats and actions against American forces in the region since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, which sparked the devastating war in Gaza.

The US has blamed Iran, which has funded and trained Hamas, for the rising violence by a network of proxy groups across the region, including attacks by Yemen’s Houthis against commercial and military vessels thorough a critical shipping choke point in the Red Sea.