The U.S. military was behind a drone strike in Baghdad that killed an Iraqi militia leader blamed for attacks against American forces in the country, according to a senior U.S. official.
It comes as growing regional tensions from the conflict in Gaza threaten to spread across borders, igniting a regional war in the Middle East.
The Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF) said its deputy head of operations in Baghdad Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi was killed in the strike.
The group is linked to Iraq’s armed forces, but the government in Baghdad has only limited control over its activities.
The American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted a leader of Harakat al Nujaba, a Shia militia that forms part of the PMF, without naming the individual.
Iraqi security forces arrive to the site where Al-Nujaba senior commander Abu Taqwa Al-Saidi was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq on January 4
Medical teams ferry the wounded and the dead to hospitals after the drone strike
Iraq’s foreign ministry condemned the attack.
‘Iraq reserves its right to take a firm stance and take all measures that deter anyone who tries to harm its land and security forces,’ it said.
The air strike is the latest in a string of killings across the region as Iranian-backed groups flex their muscles and the U.S. and Israel respond.
Iraqi police sources and witnesses said a drone fired at least two rockets in eastern Baghdad at a facility used by the Iraqi militia group al-Nujaba.
The Iran-backed organization was designated a terrorist group in 2019 by the Trump administration.
At the time it reportedly commanded about 10,000 fighters and at one time was seen as one of the top recruiters sending foreign fighters to Syria to fight the Islamic State.
Today it is one the militias that have carried out more than 100 attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since the Palestinian terrorist group killed 1200 Israelis on Oct. 7.
The result is a string of provocations that risk enflaming tensions further or sparking a bigger war.
Lebanese officials accuse Israel of using a drone to assassinate a senior Hamas commander in Beirut on Tuesday.
Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of the group, had long been a target of Israel’s.
Investigators stand on an apartment building where an apparent Israeli strike Tuesday killed top Hamas political leader Saleh Arouri, in the southern suburb of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold
Arouri was one of the most influential figures in Hamas and was living in Beirut’s southern suburbs under the protection of Hezbollah until his death following an Israeli strike
The bodies of victims of the explosions lie at a hospital in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, 2024
Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah group, a powerful Hamas ally, previously vowed to strike back against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon, and said of the attack: ‘This crime will never pass without response and punishment.’
A day later two explosions ripped through a ceremony commemorating the death of top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, killing at least 100 people in the country’s southeastern city of Kerman.
Iranian and U.S. officials say the attacks appear to be the work of terrorists, and a day later the Islamic State posted a message on Telegram channels claiming responsibility.
At the same time, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea.
A senior U.S. official described how they had stepped up their capabilities with the first ever use of an anti-ship ballistic missile at the weekend.
Houthi troopers stand guard during a protest against a multinational operation to safeguard Red Sea shipping and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sana’a, Yemen
On Wednesday, U.S. and 11 international partners demanded an immediate end to the attacks.
‘Let our message now be clear: We call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,’ said the statement signed by governments of the U.S., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
‘The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.’
The response was developed after President Joe Biden convened his national security team on New Year’s Day to discuss the escalation in incidents.
And a senior administration official later said the Houthis should not expect a second warning.
