(USNewsMag.com) – A February 7th U.S. drone strike killed a top Kataib Hezbollah leader who was involved directly in the “planning and participating” in the attack that targeted American troops in January.
The strike targeted the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, with U.S. officials stating that Iraqi government leaders were notified before the strike.
U.S. officials stated that at this time, there were indications of civilians hurt or killed by the strikes. However, Iran-backed militia officials in Iraq said there were three people killed in the drone strike, including the commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria, Wissam Muhammad Sabir Al-Saadi.
The U.S. “will not hesitate” to make sure “those who threaten our forces’ safety” are held responsible, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.
The drone strike follows the launch of air assaults by the U.S. military on sites in Syria and Iraq that are used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Iranian-backed militias as retaliation for the January 27th drone strike on a base in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured over 40 others.
President Joe Biden has stated the U.S. would retaliate against those responsible for the attack, with officials suggesting key militia leaders would likely be the targets.
Since the October 7th attack by Hamas in Israel, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for strikes on bases where U.S. troops are housed, stating they are attacking U.S. troops because the United States supported Israel. However, the January 27th attack was the first attack that killed U.S. troops. There have been at least 170 attacks on U.S. troops stationed in Syria and Iraq since October 18th, and the U.S. has responded since then by targeting locations used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed groups for weapons storage, command centers, and training facilities.
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