Five Iraqi fighters from a pro-Iranian armed group were killed in a bomb attack in Kirkuk province on Sunday evening. A US military official acknowledged that it was a “self-defense strike” as regional tensions rose over the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
• Also read: Iraq rejects any attack by Washington on its territory
The attack in northern Iraq comes a day after the Iraqi government warned the United States against any “attack” on its territory, even as pro-Iranian groups have resumed firing missile and drone attacks against American troops stationed in Iraq and Syria.
On Sunday, an “airstrike” targeted a “compound” belonging to a faction linked to Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of former paramilitaries now integrated into the regular forces, a senior security official in Kirkuk told AFP. Report of five deaths.
For his part, an American military official confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that a “self-defense attack against an immediate threat” had been carried out against “a drone launch site” near Kirkuk.
The target area is near the border with autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq. An Iraqi police officer in the area assured AFP that “debris that appeared to belong to a drone were found” at the site.
A security official in Baghdad reported “five dead and five injured” and spoke of a drone strike that targeted “a position of the al-Noujaba group in the Dibis region.”
“Reject any attack”
On Sunday evening, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a smokescreen formed by armed groups affiliated with Hashd al-Chaabi, succinctly confirmed the deaths of five militants in a press release.
It is this movement that has been claiming responsibility for the attacks on American soldiers in Iraq and Syria for several weeks.
Bombings highlight the regional impact of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip: Pro-Iran groups justify their attacks by pointing to Washington’s support for Israel.
On Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani insisted on “Iraq’s refusal to attack any attack on Iraqi territory” during a phone call with American diplomatic chief Antony Blinken.
Mr. Soudani had reiterated “the Iraqi government’s commitment to protecting the international coalition’s advisers present in Iraq,” citing American soldiers stationed in his country as part of a Washington-led anti-jihadist coalition.
In retaliation for recurring attacks by pro-Iranian groups, two deadly American strikes against pro-Iranian militants in Iraq took place in late November.
76 attacks
Washington has also bombed Iran-linked sites in Syria three times.
However, attacks on American soldiers had stopped during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which collapsed on Friday morning, raising fears of a regional escalation.
Washington has recorded a total of 76 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17, 10 days after the start of the war, according to an updated report from an American military official.
Also on Sunday, “several rockets” targeted “American and coalition forces” stationed at a base in eastern Syria without causing casualties or damage, the American military official said.
The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel on October 7, which authorities said killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
In retaliation, Israel carried out devastating bombings of Palestinian territory and launched a ground offensive on October 27. According to the Hamas government, more than 15,500 people, 70% of them women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.