Foreign

THE U.S. military attacked sites in Iraq is associated with the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iranian-affiliated groups.

The attacks were in response to an attack by pro-Iranian militias who fired several missiles at the U.S. Army’s Ain al-Assad base on Jan. 20.

U.S. forces attacked three facilities used by the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq from the air, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) announced late Tuesday.

The targets included a militia headquarters as well as storage and training centres for rockets, missiles and attack drones, the Centcom statement said.

Iraq said the U.S. had launched airstrikes on sites of Iraqi military units from the army and the Popular Mobilisation Forces, which included several Iranian-allied groups.

The U.S. move “blatantly violates Iraq’s sovereignty and contributes to an irresponsible escalation,’’ a spokesman for Iraq’s army commander-in-chief, Yehia Rasool, said in a statement.

“It occurs at a time when the region is already grappling with the danger of expanding conflict and the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza.

“The consequences of the immoral war of extermination faced by the Palestinian people.

“While the major powers, including the United States, remained silent regarding these crimes, we see the U.S. sliding into condemnable and unjustified aggressive actions against Iraqi territory and national sovereignty,’’ he said.

Iraq would treat these strikes as acts of aggression and take necessary actions to preserve Iraqi lives, he added.

The security situation in the entire region is tense due to the current war in the Gaza Strip, which began on Oct. 7.

The war was as a result of militants from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and other groups launched attacks on southern Israel. 

NAN

24th January, 2024

C.E

Tags: Iraq Kataib Hezbollah U.S. military