US airstrikes in Iraq resulted in one fatality and 18 injuries

On Tuesday, Iraq condemned the U.S. airstrikes within its borders as a “hostile act.” This followed the Pentagon’s announcement that it had targeted three sites used by pro-Iran forces in response to being attacked.

The Iraqi government labeled the strikes, which resulted in the death of one security force member and injuries to 18 others, including civilians, as an “unacceptable attack on Iraqi sovereignty,” negatively impacting the relationship between the two countries. According to an official from the Iraqi interior ministry, the airstrikes hit a Hashed al-Shaabi location in Hilla, central Iraq, and another site in Babylon province, with an additional strike in the southern province of Wassit.

Earlier, the United States had stated that its forces conducted airstrikes on three sites utilized by pro-Iran groups in Iraq. These actions were in retaliation for several attacks on U.S. personnel.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, U.S. forces have frequently targeted locations used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria, following numerous attacks on American and allied forces in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the “necessary and proportionate strikes” were conducted on facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and related groups in Iraq. Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, is part of Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of former paramilitary forces now integrated into Iraq’s regular armed forces.

Austin explained that these precision strikes were a response to a series of attacks by Iranian-sponsored militias against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. This included an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataeb Hezbollah and associated groups on Erbil Air Base.

This attack injured three U.S. military personnel, one critically, according to Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council.

Following a briefing on the attack, which involved a one-way attack drone, U.S. President Joe Biden directed the strikes in consultation with Austin and other national security officials. Biden emphasized the protection of American personnel as a top priority, warning that the U.S. would respond decisively if such attacks continued.

The drone attack was claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an affiliation of armed groups connected with Hashed al-Shaabi. Since October 17, U.S. military officials have recorded 103 attacks against their forces in Iraq and Syria, many claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes U.S. support for Israel in the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.