From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 49 minutes ago, updated 44 minutes ago
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The bombings, which killed eight fighters, were carried out “without the knowledge of Iraqi government authorities,” a government spokesman said.
American strikes in Iraq killed at least eight fighters from a pro-Iranian group early Wednesday, according to Iraqi security sources. This represents a new escalation amid rising regional tensions since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza. Previously, the US military’s Middle East command, Centcom, announced that it was pro-Iranian in retaliation for recent attacks Groups carried out “precision strikes” against US and coalition troops at two locations in Iraq. in Iraq and Syria.
The Iraqi government condemned a “flagrant violation of sovereignty.” The government spokesman explains that these bombings were carried out “without the knowledge of Iraqi government authorities.” Regarding pro-Iranian groups, he condemns “any armed activity outside the institutional framework of the army” and considers such actions “a reprehensible and illegal act.”
Coalition of former paramilitaries
Already on Tuesday, a bomb attack was carried out on a vehicle belonging to Hachd al-Chaabi, a powerful coalition of former paramilitaries integrated into regular armed forces, in the Abu Ghraib region near Baghdad. One person died and others were injured. Washington claimed responsibility for the airstrike. Self-defense. These American attacks are the first in Iraq since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has heightened tensions in the region.
Citing “the American bombings of Hachd sites (…) that killed eight martyrs,” the group denounces a “crime” and assures that “it will not go unpunished,” one says Press release on their website. Regarding attacks on American troops, the Hezbollah brigades are committed to “expanding the reach of their targets if the enemy continues his criminal method.”
In retaliation for attacks on American forces, Washington bombed Iran-linked sites in Syria three times. The United States also imposed sanctions on seven individuals linked to two pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq, including the Hezbollah Brigades.
“Self-defense”
The American attack on Tuesday in the Abu Ghraib region was a response to the previous day’s attack by a “short-range ballistic missile” on the Iraqi base of Ain al-Assad, where American troops are stationed. and the international coalition, said Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder. According to the spokesman, eight people were injured in the attack on Ain al-Assad and the base was slightly damaged.
The number of attacks on American forces and the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria has skyrocketed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. According to the Pentagon, Washington has recorded 66 attacks involving rocket fire or drone strikes since October 17, ten days after the start of the war. According to the same source, about sixty American soldiers were injured in the attacks.
The US has around 900 soldiers in Syria and almost 2,500 in Iraq fighting the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS). In Iraq, the international anti-IS coalition’s commitment is limited to supporting and advising local forces in the fight against the extremist organization.
“American aggression”
Hadi al-Ameri, a senior Hashd commander and head of the influential Badr organization, condemned “American aggression” on Wednesday and called the recent attacks a “flagrant violation of national sovereignty.” He reiterated the call regularly made by his camp, calling for “an immediate withdrawal of American and coalition forces from Iraq.”
The latest attacks are “evidence” that “refutes American claims that their presence in Iraq is limited to “advisers and trainers,” he criticized in a statement. In recent weeks, most of the attacks on American soldiers have been carried out by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” a nebula close to the pro-Iranian armed groups and praising their actions on its Telegram application channels.
The movement announced Tuesday that one of its members had been killed “fighting” American forces in Iraq, a reference to the bombing of Abu Ghraib. According to an AFP journalist, a funeral for that fighter, Fadel al-Maksoussi, was held on Tuesday near a mosque in Baghdad in the presence of several hundred members of Hachd al-Chaabi. His coffin was covered with a flag in the colors of the Hezbollah Brigades. This group had recently asserted that the attacks by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” were part of a “strategy of attrition.”
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