The US military on Wednesday bombed three facilities used by the Iraqi Kataeb Hizbulah militia, a pro-Iran paramilitary group officially known as the Islamic Resistance Movement of Iraq and often called the Iraqi Hizbulah. And also two anti-ship missiles in Yemen operated by the Houthis, militias also backed by Iran, who have continued to instigate attacks against American personnel and ships in the region. The order was given by the American president himself, Joe Biden.
Both the attacks in Iraq and Yemen targeted locations the U.S. says are involved in attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and threatened U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the attacks in Iraq targeted facilities used by the Kataeb Hizbulah militia and other Iranian-affiliated groups in Iraq, such as Jurf al Sajar, south of Baghdad, Al Qaim and another site not identified in western Iraq. The Pentagon said in a statement that its “necessary and proportionate” action comes in “direct response to the escalating series of attacks against US and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias.” The attacks occurred at 00:15 Iraqi time, already on Wednesday.
“We are not seeking to escalate the conflict in the region. We are fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge these groups and their Iranian sponsors to immediately cease these attacks,” Austin stressed.
This US attack comes a day after the United States issued sanctions against three leaders and supporters of Kataeb Hizbulah and against the Fly Baghdad airline for its support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and related groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. These sanctions, the Treasury Department said at the time, underscore the continuing threat that the Revolutionary Guard and its network pose to U.S. personnel and the region.
Kataeb Hizbulah has been blamed for several drone and missile attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria since October 7, the day the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel. The most serious this year occurred on Saturday, when the militia launched multiple ballistic missiles on Saturday against the US Al Asad air base in Iraq. The US also accuses this militia and other pro-Iran groups in Iraq of having continuously sent messages in support of Hamas and of having conveyed their “commitment” in favor of attacking Americans.
On the other hand, on the other front, the US military destroyed two anti-ship missiles belonging to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. U.S. forces “identified the missiles in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels and determined that they posed an imminent threat to U.S. merchant vessels and Navy vessels in the region,” U.S. Central Command reported (Centcom). ). The attack occurred around 2:30 a.m. Yemen time.
“This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels,” Centcom said.
Both fronts – ground attacks in Iraq and Syria, and sea attacks coming from Yemen – have seen a significant increase in launches and counterattacks in recent days. This Wednesday’s bombings are in addition to those launched on Monday by the United States and the United Kingdom against eight positions of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, in what marked the second joint operation of the two nations against that group in response to their attacks in the Red Sea.
