US launches retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militants in Iraq
U.S. forces launched a round of airstrikes in Iraq early Wednesday against two facilities used by Iran and Iran-backed groups that were involved in attacks against U.S. forces stationed in Iraq, marking the second U.S. attack in about a day, according to the U.S. Central Command.
The U.S. Central Command confirmed its forces conducted "discrete, precision strikes" against two facilities in Iraq in response to an attack against U.S. forces on Tuesday.
"The strikes were in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups, including the one in Iraq on November 21, which involved use of close-range ballistic missiles," the Command Center wrote in a statement.
On Tuesday, Iran-backed militias carried out an attack using a close-range ballistic missile against U.S. and coalition forces at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh on Tuesday told reporters prior to Wednesday morning's second round of strikes.
The attack resulted in several non-serious injuries and some minor damage to infrastructure, Singh said.
Immediately after Tuesday's attack, a U.S. military AC-130 aircraft carried out a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and several personnel believed to be involved in the attack.
Singh confirmed the U.S. strike resulted in "some" hostile fatalities, but did not confirm an exact number.
Pressed over why the U.S. targeted people instead of infrastructure or weapons storage, Singh said the AC-130 was able to determine the point of origin from where the missile was fired and as a result, U.S. forces were able to keep track of the militants' movement. She added the AC-130 was already in the air, allowing for a quick response time.
"They were able to take action because they saw the militants," Singh said. "They were able to keep an eye on the movement of these militants as they moved into their vehicles and that's why they were able to respond."
Tuesday's incident marks the latest in a series of increased assaults against American troops and assets in the Middle East. U.S. forces have been attacked about 66 times since Oct. 17, including 32 separate times in Iraq and 34 separate times in Syria, according to Singh.
Since the start of the attacks, the U.S. mounted three other strikes, which were all pre-planned and targeted specific facilities and infrastructure known to be used with militias associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Singh noted.
"We feel very confident that the targets that we have selected, one, we know that Iran supports, backs, arms, equips, financially supports these groups and these IRGC affiliate -- sorry, locations and their affiliates," Singh said. "So we are hitting them where it hurts."
The uptick in attacks believed to be from Iran-backed proxies began shortly after the war broke out between Israel and militant group Hamas following the group's surprise incursion into Israel that left over 1,200 people dead, including hundreds of civilians.
Israel has launched a campaign to destroy Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, and has bombarded Hamas-ruled Gaza with airstrikes, bombings and ground attacks in the northern part of the enclave. More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict over the past six weeks, according to the Hamas-ruled Health Ministry in Gaza.
The increased activity in the Middle East has fueled concerns that Iran and its proxies could seek to widen the conflict and destabilize the region.