US bombs Iraq sites after drone attack against occupation airbase, Baghdad condemns violation of sovereignty

Al Jazeera
Tue, 26 Dec 2023 11:58 UTC

FILE: US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under near-daily attacks by Iraqi resistance factions since mid-October 2023.

The Iraqi government has condemned air strikes by the United States military on its territory as "hostile acts" after the Pentagon said it hit sites used by pro-Iran forces to target US forces.

Comment: Indeed, they may be 'pro-Iran', but the reason the US is under attack is because of its two-decades long, illegal, occupation of the country.

The US strikes killed one member of the Iraqi security forces and wounded 18 people, including civilians, the government in Baghdad said on Tuesday, calling them an "unacceptable attack on Iraqi sovereignty" that would "harm bilateral relations".

Launched early on Tuesday, the US air strikes targeted three sites used by Kataib Hezbollah, a Shia armed group, and its affiliates, said US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

The strikes were a response to a Kataib Hezbollah attack the day before on Erbil airbase that wounded three US service members, one of them critically, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Austin said the "necessary and proportionate" strikes were intended to "disrupt and degrade" the capabilities of the Iran-aligned groups responsible for attacks against US personnel.

"While we do not seek to escalate [the] conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities," Austin said.

Comment: It's likely that this 'retaliation' is actually intended to contribute and accelerate the destabilisation of the region. Notably it occurred on the same day as: Israel assassinates top Iranian military general in Syria, Tehran warns Tel Aviv 'will pay' for its 'terrorism'

'Defend our interests'

US forces have repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria in response to dozens of attacks on American and allied forces in the region since the October 7 outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war.

US officials on Tuesday said the US military would continue to retaliate if US forces were targeted.

"The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue," said Watson.

Austin said: "Let me be clear - the president and I will not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests. There is no higher priority."

The US Central Command said early assessments of the US military's latest strikes indicated they destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed several Kataib Hezbollah fighters, without killing any civilians.

The strikes are the latest indication of how Israel's war in Gaza is reverberating across the Middle East, where there is widespread outrage over the mounting Palestinian death toll.

Palestinian officials say that more than 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7, when the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched a surprise multipronged assault on southern Israel. The revised death toll from Hamas's attack stands at 1,139.

US officials have reported at least 103 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.

Comment: It does appear that those groups working to oust the illegal, US occupation have ramped up their attacks.

Iran has not commented on the latest strikes but has previously denied directing proxy groups to attack US forces in the region.

Comment: Less than 24 hours later, two other, rather suspect, incidents occurred:

Iran's Baghdad Embassy Unscathed by Fire

A fire that broke out off the premises of the embassy of Iran in Baghdad on Tuesday morning has not caused any damage to the embassy building, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Iraqi media outlets reported on Tuesday that a CONEX box used by security guards, located off the premises of the Iranian embassy in Al Salhiah neighborhood of Baghdad, caught fire in the morning.

In an interview with Tasnim, the director general of department of Iraq at the Foreign Ministry of Iran said the fire broke out at a container that housed workers in a construction area adjacent to the embassy of Iran in Baghdad.

Mousa Alizadeh Tabatabaee said the fire has not occurred on the premises of the embassy and has not caused any harm to the embassy building either.

Iraq helicopter crash kills pilot during election

An Iraqi airman was killed and another injured when their military helicopter crashed as they took part in a major security operation for provincial elections, the defence ministry said Tuesday.

The aircraft encountered a "technical problem" shortly after takeoff from an airbase outside Tuz Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk, on Monday evening and crashed, killing the pilot and injuring the second officer, the ministry said.

Monday's provincial council elections were the first in a decade but passed off without incident, despite a persistent threat from holdout jihadists operating from remote desert and mountain areas.

The electoral commission reported a turnout of 41 percent. Preliminary results were due later Tuesday.