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US attacks Iran-backed militia bases in Iraq and Syria US attacks Iran-backed militia bases in Iraq and Syria
(about 5 hours later)
The US has conducted air strikes against Iranian-backed paramilitaries in Iraq and Syria following the death of a US contractor. The US has conducted air strikes in Iraq and Syria against an Iran-backed Iraqi militia blamed for an attack that killed an American civilian contractor.
Iraqi security sources said at least 25 fighters of the Kataib Hezbollah group were killed and more than 50 wounded in Sunday's strikes. Weapons caches and command and control centres at five sites associated with Kataib Hezbollah were hit on Sunday, the defence department said.
The group is considered a terrorist organisation by the US. An Iraqi paramilitary force said 25 fighters were killed and 51 injured.
A rocket attack on a base in Kirkuk on Friday killed a US contractor and wounded other personnel. The US secretary of state said it would not stand for Iran taking actions that put American lives in jeopardy.
Speaking in Washington DC on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran that the US would retaliate if American lives were threatened. Kataib Hezbollah leader Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, who is also known as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, warned that "the blood of the martyrs will not be in vain".
"Today what we did was take a decisive response that makes clear what President Trump has said for months - which is that we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran taking actions that put American men and women in jeopardy," he said. "Our response will be very tough on the American forces in Iraq," he said.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that F-15 jet fighters had hit five targets associated with Kataib Hezbollah. The Pentagon said three were in western Iraq and two in eastern Syria. Iraq's prime minister denounced the "violation of Iraqi sovereignty", while Iran's foreign ministry said the US strikes were a "clear example of terrorism".
The targets were either weapons' storage facilities or command and control centres, Mr Esper added. The American contractor died when more than 30 rockets hit an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk on Friday. Four US service personnel and two members of the Iraqi security forces were also wounded in the attack.
Iraqi sources said one of the strikes had hit the militia group's headquarters in the western Al-Qaim district and at least four commanders were among the dead. What did the US strikes target?
Who are Kataib Hezbollah? Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said US forces conducted "precision defensive strikes" against three Kataib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and two in Syria that would degrade its ability to conduct attacks against US-led coalition forces based in Iraq to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.
Kataib Hezbollah - a Shia Muslim militia group that is backed by Iran - was founded in 2007. These locations included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations that Kataib Hezbollah used to plan and execute attacks, he added.
The US says Kataib Hezbollah has a strong link with Iran's Quds Force and has repeatedly received aid and support from Iran that it has used to attack coalition forces. A spokesman for the Popular Mobilisation, an Iraqi paramilitary force dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias like Kataib Hezbollah, said the US strikes had targeted its Al-Jazira Operations Command facility in the al-Qaim area of Anbar province, as well as fighters from its 45th and 46th brigades.
The Trump administration has alleged that the Quds Force is "Iran's primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting" US-designated terrorist groups across the Middle East - including Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and Palestinian Islamic Jihad - by providing funding, training, weapons and equipment. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters the strikes were "successful" and that he had discussed with President Donald Trump "other options" to discourage further attacks on US forces.
"I would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own self-defence and we deter further bad behaviour from militia groups or from Iran," he said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "This wasn't the first set of attacks against this particular Iraqi facility and others where there are American lives at risk.
"What we did was take a decisive response that makes clear what President Trump has said for months and months and months - which is that we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and woman in jeopardy."
What is Kataib Hezbollah?
Kataib Hezbollah (Brigades of the Party of God) is a powerful Iraqi Shia militia that receives financial and military support from Iran.
Since 2009, the US has designated the group as a terrorist organisation and listed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as a "global terrorist", accusing them of threatening the peace and stability of Iraq.
Mr Hoffman said Kataib Hezbollah had a "strong linkage" with Iran's Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), and had "repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from Iran that it has used to attack" US-led coalition forces in Iraq.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who is also the chief of staff of the Popular Mobilisation, is said to advise Quds Force commander Gen Qasem Soleimani.
The Trump administration has previously alleged that the Quds Force is "Iran's primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting" US-designated terrorist groups across the Middle East.
What is Iran suspected of doing in Iraq?What is Iran suspected of doing in Iraq?
Iran's influence over Iraq's internal affairs has grown steadily since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.Iran's influence over Iraq's internal affairs has grown steadily since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
It has close links to Shia politicians who are part of the ruling elite, and has backed the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation force, which is dominated by Shia militias. It has close links to Shia politicians who are part of the ruling elite, and has backed the Popular Mobilisation, which played a key role in defeating IS.
Protesters in Iraq have accused Iran of complicity in Iraq's failure and corruption. They have set fire to a number of Iranian consulate buildings in the country during the recent wave of protests.Protesters in Iraq have accused Iran of complicity in Iraq's failure and corruption. They have set fire to a number of Iranian consulate buildings in the country during the recent wave of protests.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iranian-backed forces for a series of attacks in Iraq. Earlier this month, Mr Pompeo blamed Iranian-backed forces for a series of attacks in Iraq.
He warned Iran that any attacks by the country or its proxies that harmed the US or allies would be "answered with a decisive US response".He warned Iran that any attacks by the country or its proxies that harmed the US or allies would be "answered with a decisive US response".