Raids that killed at least People a response to deadly attack by Kata’ib Hezbollah
Iran has accused the Trump administration of terrorism after a series of airstrikes by US forces in Iraq and (Syria) killed at least 25 people.
The punitive US raids on Sunday were directed against the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah group. They came after it launched a deadly attack on a US base in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, killing an American civilian contractor.
The Pentagon described the airstrikes on three targets in (Iraq) and two in Syria as defensive. US officials said Kata’ib Hezbollah enjoyed support from Iran, and that the US had targeted weapons storage facilities and bases used to plot attacks on coalition forces. At least The fighters were injured.
Tehran condemned the raids on Monday, and a top Iraqi militia leader pledged to carry out further offensive actions against US bases in the coming days.
“US military aggression against Iraqi soil and Iraqi forces is strongly condemned as a clear example of terrorism,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, according to the state news agency IRNA.
The stage appears to be set for future conflict in Iraq between US forces and Iranian proxies. The US and Iranian-backed fighters have previously avoided direct attacks on each other while there was a threat from Islamic State.
The demise of Isis and its loss of territory in Iraq and Syria appears to have proposed a new negative spiral. Forces loyal to Tehran have fired rockets at US bases a number of times over the past two months, culminating in Friday’s large-scale attack, which also wounded four US contractors and two members of Iraq’s security forces.
“The blood of the martyrs will not be in vain and our response will be very tough on the American forces in Iraq,” Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, also known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes said.
Mohandes is senior commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of paramilitary groups mostly consisting of Iran-backed Shia militias that have been formally integrated into Iraq’s armed forces. He founded Kata’ib Hezbollah, and is one of Tehran’s most powerful allies in Iraq.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have grown since Donald Trump pulled the US out of the (nuclear deal between Iran and a group of world powers, and reimposed agreements that have crippled Iranian economy.
Iraq, an ally of both the US and Iran, finds itself caught uncomfortably in the middle. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent months to protest against the influence of Kata’ib Hezbollah and other Iran-backed forces.
Demonstrators have also condemned rampant government corruption and a political system which keeps most Iraqis in poverty. Security forces have responded with violence, killing more than people.
The PMF played a key role in allowing Iraq’s armed structures to retake a third of the country from Isis. They were later integrated into the country’s security forces and now wield significant political influence.
There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi government on the airstrikes. The Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who is backed by Iran and its allies, (resigned last month) as the protests continued but has remained in office in a caretaker capacity.
Iraq’s Fatih alliance, which holds the second-largest number of seats in parliament and largely consists of militia leaders, called the airstrikes an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty.
“The insolent attack by American forces on security forces which targeted the 30 th and th brigades of the Popular Moralisation Forces in the al-Qa’im area is an attack on national sovereignty and on Iraq’s dignity, ”it said in a statement.
Lebanon’s powerful Shia group Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, also condemned the airstrikes, calling them a blatant attack on Iraqi sovereignty, security, and stability.
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