U.S. war planes launched strikes last night (Eastern Time) on the Kataib Hezbollah militia, in Iraq in retaliation for a drone strike that hit the U.S. base in Erbil during the day yesterday, and resulted in the wounding of three U.S. troops. A statement issued by U.S. Central Command claimed that early assessments indicated that these U.S. airstrikes destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants. There are no indications that any civilian lives were affected. The U.S. military will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of these strikes.
“These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces,” said Centcom chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement that the strikes were ordered by President Biden after he was briefed on the drone attack.
A senior Kataib Hezbollah official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the group’s operations against U.S. forces in Iraq are due partly to the U.S. support for Israel and its war against Hamas, and also to Hezbollah’s view that the U.S. presence in Iraq an “occupation.”
“Our operations will continue until the departure of the last American soldier,” the official said.
The government in Baghdad issued a statement angrily denouncing the U.S. airstrike as “a clear hostile act” which “runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq.”
Earlier in the day, an Israeli air strike on Damascus reportedly killed IRGC Gen. Ravi Mousavi. Israel on Dec. 25 struck the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood, located near a Shi’ite shrine. Associated Press cited the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), and Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. IRNA described Mousavi as a close companion of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020.
