25 killed in US strikes on Iran-backed militia in Iraq
Baghdad, December 30
US airstrikes on Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria has killed at least 25 fighters. Kataeb Hezbollah vowed to exact revenge after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Washington had carried out military strikes targeting the Iran-backed Iraqi militia blamed for a rocket attack that killed an American contractor in Iraq last week. Over 50 are said to have sustained injuries.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strikes sent the message that the US would not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardise American lives.
The US military said “precision defensive strikes” were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria. Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement, “Our battle with America and its mercenaries is now open to all possibilities. We have no alternative today other than confrontation and there is nothing that will prevent us from responding to this crime.”
The US blames the militia for a rocket barrage on Friday that killed a US defense contractor at a military compound near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. Officials said as many as 30 rockets were fired in that attack.
Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades, a separate force from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Many of them are supported by Iran.
The Popular Mobilization Forces yesterday said the US strikes killed at least 19 of Kataeb Hezbollah’s members. But Kataeb Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Mohieh told The Associated Press on Monday that the death toll rose to 25. At least 51 militiamen were wounded and some of them were serious condition, he said. — AP
Group warns of stern response
Baghdad: A top Iraqi militia leader warned of a strong response against US forces in Iraq following the air strikes in Iraq and Syria. “The blood of the martyrs will not be in vain and our response will be very tough on the American forces in Iraq,” said Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, senior commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups mostly consisting of Iran-backed Shi’ite militias that was formally integrated into Iraq’s armed forces. Reuters
Washington supporting terrorism, says tehran
Tehran: Iran on Monday said the United States had shown its “support for terrorism” by carrying out air strikes on forces in Iraq that have dealt blows against the Islamic State group. “These attacks have once again proved America’s false claims in fighting Daesh as the United States has targeted the positions of forces that over the years have inflicted heavy blows on Daesh terrorists,” Iran’s government spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, referring to the IS. “With these attacks, America has shown its firm support for terrorism and its neglect for the independence and sovereignty of countries and it must accept consequences for its illegal act,” he said in a statement. AFP
