Dubai – Masaader News
US conducted air strikes in Iraq and Syria against an Iran-backed militia blamed for an attack that killed an American civilian contractor, according to BBC.
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said US forces conducted “precision defensive strikes” against three Kataib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and two in Syria that would degrade its ability to conduct attacks against US-led coalition forces based in Iraq to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.
These locations included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations that Kataib Hezbollah used to plan and execute attacks, he added.
A spokesman for the Popular Mobilisation, an Iraqi paramilitary force dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias like Kataib Hezbollah, said the US strikes had targeted its Al-Jazira Operations Command facility in the al-Qaim area of Anbar province, as well as fighters from its 45th and 46th brigades.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters the strikes were “successful” and that he had discussed with President Donald Trump “other options” to discourage further attacks on US forces.