A commander of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia, which the United States blames for a drone strike that killed three Americans at a base in Jordan last week, was slain in an airstrike conducted by the United States in Iraq on Wednesday.
According to the Pentagon, a commander who was directly involved in the planning and execution of assaults against American forces in the area was slain in the U.S. strike on Wednesday.
The attack seemed to have originated from a strategic lapse on the part of Pentagon planners, constituting an element of a broader offensive strategy targeting Iranian-aligned organizations accountable for over 165 assaults against American forces stationed in the area.
U.S. Central Command has announced that they conducted a Unilateral Airstrike tonight on a Kata'ib Hezbollah Commander in Baghdad, Iraq who was Responsible for the Ordering and Planning of Attacks by Iranian-Backed Groups on U.S. Bases across the Middle East including the One-Way…
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 7, 2024
In retaliation for a drone strike by the Iraqi militia on January 28 against a U.S. outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border, the United States initiated a sequence of retaliatory airstrikes against Iran’s paramilitary and militia organizations, which are supported by Tehran in both Syria and Iraq.
At least eighty-five targets were struck by the United States on Friday in Iraq and Syria, with the intention of discouraging additional assaults against American forces stationed in Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.
According to the Pentagon’s statement at the time, the U.S. had previously targeted three facilities in western Iraq that were utilized by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia organization, including its headquarters, storage areas, and training grounds for unidirectional drone and rocket attacks, late last month.
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