By Baghdad — In a targeted U.S. drone strike on Wednesday night, three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, were killed in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
Strike in the Heart of Baghdad
The strike took place in the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, on a main thoroughfare. As emergency response teams sifted through the wreckage, a crowd gathered at the scene. In response, security forces closed off the heavily guarded Green Zone, where several diplomatic compounds are situated, amid heightened fears of protesters storming the U.S. embassy.
The Targeted Commander
Key Militia Operative Killed
Escalating Tensions in the Region
This drone strike comes amidst escalating tensions in the region and just days after the U.S. military conducted an air assault on multiple sites in Iraq and Syria. These sites were used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The assault was launched in retaliation for a drone strike that occurred in late January, resulting in the deaths of three U.S. troops in Jordan.
As the situation continues to develop, it remains to be seen how these recent retaliatory actions will affect the volatile dynamics between various factions in the region.
U.S. Accuses Iran-Backed Coalition of Attack in Jordan
The United States has attributed the attack in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a large alliance of militias supported by Iran. Officials have singled out Kataib Hezbollah as the likely perpetrator of the assault.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has been actively targeting U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. They claim these attacks are in response to Washington’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have resulted in the deaths of 27,707 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled territory.
Following the incident in Jordan, Kataib Hezbollah announced its decision to temporarily halt attacks on American troops so as to avoid “embarrassing the Iraqi government.” However, other factions within the Islamic Resistance have vowed to continue their fight.
Recently, the Islamic Resistance claimed responsibility for a drone strike on a U.S. military base in eastern Syria, resulting in the deaths of six fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces—a Kurdish-led group allied with the United States.
The escalation of this regional conflict coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of Hamas’ proposed terms for a hostage-release agreement. Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until “absolute victory.”
Additionally, on the same day, the media office of the Houthi rebels in Yemen reported two airstrikes in the Ras Issa area of Salif district in Hodeida province.
Comments