The army base internet hosting U.S. and coalition forces in northern Iraq’s Irbil got here underneath hearth by an armed drone on Friday, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) anti-terrorism service stated.
The assertion didn’t elaborate on whether or not the assault brought on casualties or infrastructure harm on the al-Harir base.
The U.S. army on Friday additionally publicly thanked Iraq’s police for his or her Jan. 3 discovery of a land-based cruise missile {that a} U.S. official stated was aimed toward American troops within the nation.
“The Coalition is appreciative of the efforts of the legitimate security forces in Iraq for their efforts to prevent future attacks,” U.S. Central Command stated in a publish on social media platform X.
The reward got here as Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s workplace introduced it was forming a committee to organize to shut down the U.S.-led worldwide coalition’s mission within the nation following a U.S. strike towards a militia chief blamed for assaults towards U.S. troops.
Sudani, whose authorities depends on assist from Tehran-aligned events, has repeatedly stated in current weeks he want to see international troops go away Iraq.
But the most recent remarks got here amid hovering regional tensions, with the repercussions of the Israel-Hamas battle, raging for almost three months, more and more felt in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.
A U.S. drone strike on Thursday killed a army commander and one other member of Harakat al-Nujaba, a faction of Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces – PMF) – a set of primarily pro-Iranian former paramilitary models now built-in into the Iraqi armed forces.
Washington labeled the assault in Iraq’s capital an act of self-defense, whereas Sudani’s authorities decried it as an act of “blatant aggression” on the a part of the U.S.-led coalition.
The Iraqi chief on Friday “affirmed (his) firm position seeking to put an end to the existence of the international coalition, as the justifications for its existence have ended,” in line with an announcement issued by his workplace.
He stated “dialogue” to happen quickly would “determine the procedure to end this presence,” the assertion stated.
It famous that Sudani was talking at a commemoration for slain Iranian basic Qassem Soleimani, who led the Revolutionary Guards’ international operations and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
The U.S. and different coalition forces in Iraq, deployed since 2014 within the struggle towards the Daesh terrorist group, have come underneath common assaults since preventing erupted on Oct. 7 between Israel and Hamas.
Washington says there have been greater than 100 assaults on its forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria since mid-October.
Many have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a free alliance of Iran-linked armed teams that oppose U.S. assist for Israel within the Gaza battle.
The United States has round 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as a part of the multinational coalition arrange on the top of Daesh’s territorial positive aspects. Other companions embrace France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Baghdad in late 2017 declared victory over the group, however terrorist cells stay in distant areas of northern Iraq and proceed to sporadically launch assaults.
Source: www.dailysabah.com