US drone strike kills Iraq-based militia leaders — RT World News

The United States carried out a drone strike in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday evening that killed three members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a senior commander. Central Command in Washington (CENTCOM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The car in which the trio was traveling was bombed in the Al-Mashtal neighborhood in Baghdad, at around 9:30 pm local time. Local outlet Sabreen News described the attack as: “American aggression.”

Images circulating on social media showed the remains of what appeared to be a Hellfire missile, which is commonly used by US attack drones.

Two of the dead have since been identified as Hajj Arkhan Al-Alawi and Wissam Muhammad “Abu Bakr” Al-Saadi, who was responsible for Kataib Hezbollah operations in Syria.

In the current situation to publish On X, (formerly known as Twitter), US Central Command said it had implemented this “A unilateral strike in Iraq in response to attacks on US service members, killing the Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for direct planning and participation in attacks on US forces in the region.”

The United States accused Kataib Hezbollah of being behind the attack that occurred last month and led to the killing of three American soldiers at a base on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border. After a series of retaliatory US air strikes, the group announced it would do so “comment” Attacks.

Local media in Baghdad reported that crowds of demonstrators gathered at the strike site, chanting slogans that categorize the United States. “Greatest devil.”

Al-Saadi is the most senior member of Kataib Hezbollah to be killed in Iraq since a drone airstrike in January 2020 that killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Tehran responded to this assassination by bombing American bases with ballistic missiles.

Shiite militias have attacked US bases in the region with missiles and drones at least 150 times since last October, following Israel's declaration of war on Hamas following deadly raids launched by the armed group from Gaza.

The White House blamed Tehran for the attacks, but stopped short of attacking Iran as some members of Congress called for. The United States continued to deploy its forces in Iraq even after the government in Baghdad explicitly asked them to leave. The Pentagon's presence in Syria is illegal under international law.