US launches airstrikes on sites of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The US conducted early on Wednesday precision airstrikes on two facilities of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in response to attacks on a US base there, which the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias, claimed responsibility for.
US Central Command (USCENTCOM) said on X that their forces conducted “discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq,” adding the strikes were “in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups, including the one in Iraq on November 21, which involved use of close-range ballistic missiles.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters in a press briefing that after Iran-backed militias used a close-range ballistic missile against al-Asad Air Base in Iraq that hosts US and coalition forces, a US military AC-130 aircraft “conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in this attack.”
She added that the “self-defense strike” resulted in some fatalities among the Iranian militants.
Moreover, Singh said that since Oct. 17, about 66 attacks were carried out against US forces, “32 separate times in Iraq and 34 separate times in Syria.” She further added that US personnel sustained about 62 injuries without including the injuries inflicted from Tuesday’s attack on the al-Asad Air Base.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, following a surprise attack by Hamas, the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq has stepped up its attacks against US bases in Syria and Iraq.