2023-12-26 06:39:06
The United States announced that it had struck three sites used by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed forces in Iraq on Monday, December 25, in particular in response to an attack targeting American personnel in Erbil, in the north of the country.
“The US military carried out necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq”, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. These strikes are “a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria carried out by Iranian-backed militias, including that of the Iranian-affiliated Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups, against the air base of ‘Erbil earlier today’he stressed.
The Hezbollah Brigades, or Kataeb Hezbollah, are considered a “terrorist organization” by the US Department of State since 2009.
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Three American personnel injured
The Erbil attack injured three American personnel, one seriously, said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. This attack was carried out using an explosive drone and was claimed by the Islamic Resistance group in Iraq, a nebula of fighters from several pro-Iran armed groups who are also affiliated with Hachd Al-Chalabi, former paramilitaries integrated into the regular forces.
Attacks attributed to pro-Iranian groups against American troops have increased in Iraq and Syria since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7. One hundred and three of them have been recorded by Washington since October 17, the majority claimed by the Islamic Resistance group in Iraq, which denounces American support for Israel. “The United States will act at a time and in a manner of its choosing if these attacks continue”underlined Ms. Watson in a press release.
Washington has around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and 900 in Syria, as part of a system intended to fight against a possible resurgence of the Islamic State group.
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