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| US confirms bombing Iraq’s Shia Kata’eb Hezbollah militia after rocket strike at base near Baghdad killed 2 troops | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| US aircraft bombed five Shia militia targets in Iraq, in retaliation for the earlier deaths of two US service members and a British nurse in a rocket attack on Camp Taji near Baghdad. | |
| Multiple outlets reported the strikes, citing US officials speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday afternoon – shortly after midnight Baghdad time. No information about the strikes or targets was offered. Earlier in the day, the Pentagon blamed the “Iran-backed” Iraqi Shia militias for Wednesday’s rocket strike, which killed three and wounded 14 more people. | |
| Social media reports spoke of airstrikes against Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in four Iraqi provinces – Karbala, Babil, Baghdad and Salah-al-Din. | Social media reports spoke of airstrikes against Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in four Iraqi provinces – Karbala, Babil, Baghdad and Salah-al-Din. |
| The strikes were carried out by fighter jets, rather than missiles or drones, and targeted Kata’eb Hezbollah – one of the PMF militias that the US has blamed for attacks on its forces in Iraq – according to an unnamed Pentagon official cited by Fox News. | |
| US jets targeted five ammunition storage sites in what the official called “proportional response” against the militia. | |
| Thursday’s attack follows a series of airstrikes against PMF positions in Iraq’s Anbar province and just across the border in Syria on Wednesday, which were blamed on the US by local media outlets but never confirmed by the Pentagon. | Thursday’s attack follows a series of airstrikes against PMF positions in Iraq’s Anbar province and just across the border in Syria on Wednesday, which were blamed on the US by local media outlets but never confirmed by the Pentagon. |
| Defense Secretary Mark Esper said earlier in the day that he was given the authority “to do what we need to do” from US President Donald Trump, without elaborating further. | Defense Secretary Mark Esper said earlier in the day that he was given the authority “to do what we need to do” from US President Donald Trump, without elaborating further. |
| A total of 18 rockets struck Camp Taji on Wednesday, killing two US troops – whose names have not been made public yet – and one British army nurse, identified since as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon. The base, located 27km north of Baghdad, is used by the US coalition to train Iraqi security forces. | A total of 18 rockets struck Camp Taji on Wednesday, killing two US troops – whose names have not been made public yet – and one British army nurse, identified since as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon. The base, located 27km north of Baghdad, is used by the US coalition to train Iraqi security forces. |
| The PMF are mainly composed of Iraqi Shia militiamen who have fought alongside the mainly Sunni Iraqi army, and have been formally recognized as a part of it since March 2018. The US considers them Iranian proxies, because they have received military and financial support from Tehran during the struggle against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists. | The PMF are mainly composed of Iraqi Shia militiamen who have fought alongside the mainly Sunni Iraqi army, and have been formally recognized as a part of it since March 2018. The US considers them Iranian proxies, because they have received military and financial support from Tehran during the struggle against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists. |
| The PMF were also blamed for the attack on the K-1 base outside of Kirkuk in December, which killed one US military contractor. This triggered an escalation spiral, with US launching reprisal strikes, the PMF attempting to storm the US embassy in Baghdad, Trump ordering the drone assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and Iran responding to that by launching ballistic missiles against two US bases inside Iraq. | The PMF were also blamed for the attack on the K-1 base outside of Kirkuk in December, which killed one US military contractor. This triggered an escalation spiral, with US launching reprisal strikes, the PMF attempting to storm the US embassy in Baghdad, Trump ordering the drone assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and Iran responding to that by launching ballistic missiles against two US bases inside Iraq. |
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