BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah militia said five of its members were killed in its stronghold of Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad in U.S. strikes that Washington said came in response to attacks by Iran-aligned militias against their forces in the region.
The U.S. carried out two series of strikes in Iraq on Tuesday and Wednesday local time, its first publicly reported responses in Iraqi territory to dozens of recent attacks and a sign of escalation in the regional conflict tied to the Israel-Gaza war.
The attacks began on Oct. 17 and have been linked by Iraqi militia groups to U.S. support for Israel in its bombardment of Gaza following attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
The strike by fighter aircraft targeted and destroyed a Kataeb Hezbollah operations centre and a Kataeb Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al Anbar and Jurf Al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, a U.S. defense official said.
An Iraqi military official said at least three Kataeb Hezbollah members had been killed and seven wounded in the overnight U.S. strikes.
Until this week, the United States had been reluctant to retaliate in Iraq because of the delicate political situation in Baghdad, where they have sought closer cooperation, including on financial issues, while seeking to limit Iran’s influence.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has limited control over some Iran-backed factions, whose support he needed to win power a year ago and who now form a powerful bloc in his governing coalition. Many of the factions also do not see eye-to-eye on how far to go with their attacks.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Timour Azhari in Baghdad; Editing by Jacqueline Wong asnd Andrew Heavens)
