The Pentagon reported that a US strike in Baghdad on Thursday killed a military commander who supported Iran; ex-paramilitaries Al-Hashed al-Shaabi claimed the strike struck one of their offices.
Two individuals were reportedly killed and seven injured in the drone strike, which the government called a “blatant aggression,” according to an Iraqi security official.
Major General Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon, however, said that the strike was a self-defense measure against a commander who was actively plotting assaults against US personnel.
“It is important to note that the strike was taken in self-defence, that no civilians were harmed and that no infrastructure or facilities were struck,” Ryder told journalists in Washington.
According to Ryder, the operation killed another member of the group and specifically targeted a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba who was “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.”
A Hashed insider who wished to remain anonymous verified the attack and its toll. The incident occurred as regional tensions rose with the Israel-Hamas conflict raging in the Gaza Strip.
The majority of the Hashed al-Shaabi are ex-paramilitary groups with pro-Iranian views that fought Sunni Muslim extremists before being incorporated into the Iraqi military.
One of the Hashed’s factions, Harakat al-Nujaba, said that Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi, the deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, had been “martyred in a US strike.”
Videos posted on a Hashed-affiliated Telegram channel showed columns of smoke rising over the striking location on Palestine Street in Baghdad, which is typically a busy business street.
According to an AFP photographer, Hashed troops roped off the area and prevented media from visiting.
Regional tensions
Following a string of assaults on US forces in neighboring Syria and Iraq since the commencement of the Gaza conflict, the strike occurred. Washington claims that since mid-October, there have been over 100.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of armed organizations with ties to Iran that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict, has claimed many.
Since 2014, the US has been fighting the Islamic State organization as a member of a multinational coalition, sending some 2,500 troops to Iraq and 900 to Syria.
In response to recent attacks, the US military has launched airstrikes against locations in Iraq and Syria that are utilized by Iran and its proxy forces, including hidden sites.
Thursday’s strike was denounced by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as “a dangerous escalation and assault”, according to his office.
“The Iraqi armed forces hold the global coalition forces responsible for this unwarranted attack,” a spokesperson for Sudani said in a statement.
In December, provincial council elections were held in most of the country’s provinces, and pro-Iranian parties emerged victorious, controlling the majority of council seats in the parliament.
While denouncing some of the attacks on US targets, the Baghdad administration has also criticized Washington for intervening on its own behalf.
Iraq is still “an important and valued partner,” according to a Pentagon official, and “our forces are there at the government of Iraq’s invitation to help train and advise” as part of the fight against IS.
“As we have been doing all along, we will continue to consult closely with the Iraqi government about the safety and security of US forces,” Ryder said.