Iraq on Thursday labeled the U.S.-led coalition “factor of instability” a day after recent U.S. airstrike killed a senior pro-Iran armed group commander.
The U.S. assault Wednesday got here after a wave of strikes on Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria final week following the killing of three American troops in neighboring Jordan on Jan. 28.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned the commander killed Wednesday was focused “in response to the attacks on U.S. service members.”
The strike killed “a Kataeb Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region,” in line with CENTCOM.
“The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces’ safety,” it added.
Iraqi authorities slammed the strike as a “blatant assassination” in a residential neighborhood of Baghdad.
“The international coalition is completely overstepping the reasons and objectives for which it is present on our territory,” mentioned Yehia Rasool, the army spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister.
“This path pushes the Iraqi government more than ever before to end the coalition’s mission which has become a factor of instability for Iraq,” he added.
He was referring to the U.S.-led worldwide army alliance fashioned in 2014 to combat Daesh – the yr the terrorist group overran practically a 3rd of Iraq’s territory.
Kataeb Hezbollah – which introduced it was suspending its assaults on U.S. forces after the lethal Jordan assault – mentioned one among its commanders had been killed, figuring out him as Abu Baqr al-Saadi. He was liable for “military affairs” in Syria, an official from the group advised AFP.
The Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of primarily pro-Iran paramilitaries – of which Kataeb Hezbollah is an element – now built-in into Iraq’s common safety forces, additionally confirmed Saadi’s dying.
An Interior Ministry official mentioned a complete of three folks – two Kataeb Hezbollah leaders and their driver – had died within the strike, which was carried out by a drone within the east Baghdad neighborhood of Al Mashtal.
Source: www.dailysabah.com