US AIRSTRIKES ON IRANIAN-LINKED MILITIA BASES KILL AT LEAST 25, INCLUDING SENIOR COMMANDER
An F-15 Strike Eagle, similar to the one shown here, was used by the US military to strike Kataib Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria (via nationalinterest.org).
US warplanes struck 5 bases belonging to the Iranian-sponsored militia Kataib Hezbollah in both Iraq and Syria this evening, killing at least 25, including a senior commander, and wounding dozens more. US Undersecretary of Defense Jonathan Hoffman released a statement confirming US responsibility, calling them “precision defensive strikes” intended to “degrade KH’s (Kataib Hezbollah’s) ability to conduct future attacks against OIR coalition forces.” All non-essential personnel have been evacuated from the US embassy and the Iraqi Prime Minister has called an emergency session of his security cabinet.
The strikes come less than 48 hours after a barrage of Katyusha rockets were fired into an Iraqi base housing US troops in Kirkuk on Friday. That attack killed a US civilian contractor and wounded four troops. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has previously warned Iran that any attacks on US forces in the region resulting in casualties would be met with a military response. A dozen attacks on US bases have been linked to Iranian proxies in the last three months. Unused Katyusha rockets were found near the scene of the latest attack which indicate that they were imported from Iran.
The US now joins Israel and possibly Saudi Arabia in the group of nations confronting Iran militarily in Syria and Iraq. Street demonstrations against Iranian hegemony have embroiled Iraq in political chaos over the last three months, during which Iran has taken a much more direct role in Iraqi politics and security.
Sources: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-US-forces-launch-attack-on-Kataib-Hezbollah-base-in-Iraq-612478
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-strikes-iranian-backed-militia-in-iraq-12-reported-killed/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2047960/statement-from-assistant-to-the-secretary-of-defense-jonathan-hoffman/
https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1211335993208557568
https://twitter.com/BaxtiyarGoran/status/1211340329099628546
https://twitter.com/AJABreaking/status/1211366132063621123
https://twitter.com/BaxtiyarGoran/status/1211371251878510598