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| US launches strikes in Iraq on militia groups backed by Iran | US launches strikes in Iraq on militia groups backed by Iran |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Pentagon calls attacks ‘necessary and proportionate’, after US personnel were injured in a weekend attack in Iraq | Pentagon calls attacks ‘necessary and proportionate’, after US personnel were injured in a weekend attack in Iraq |
| The US has carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon has said, after a weekend attack on an Iraqi airbase that wounded US forces. | The US has carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon has said, after a weekend attack on an Iraqi airbase that wounded US forces. |
| “US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq,” the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement. | “US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq,” the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement. |
| “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Austin added. | “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Austin added. |
| On Saturday, four US personnel suffered traumatic brain injuries after Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iranian-backed militants from inside Iraq. | On Saturday, four US personnel suffered traumatic brain injuries after Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iranian-backed militants from inside Iraq. |
| Sources speaking to the Reuters news agency said Tuesday’s strikes in Iraq killed at least two militants, and that four people were wounded. | Sources speaking to the Reuters news agency said Tuesday’s strikes in Iraq killed at least two militants, and that four people were wounded. |
| US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked about 150 times by Iran-aligned militants since the Israel-Gaza war started in October, putting pressure on president Joe Biden to respond militarily, despite political sensitivities in Baghdad. | US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked about 150 times by Iran-aligned militants since the Israel-Gaza war started in October, putting pressure on president Joe Biden to respond militarily, despite political sensitivities in Baghdad. |
| The attacks against the United States are seen as retaliation for its support of Israel in its war against Hamas. | The attacks against the United States are seen as retaliation for its support of Israel in its war against Hamas. |
| The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated. | The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated. |
| The war in Gaza has been spreading in recent months, with US forces hitting Houthi targets who have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea. | The war in Gaza has been spreading in recent months, with US forces hitting Houthi targets who have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea. |
| Early on Wednesday, the US military announced it had carried out two more strikes in Yemen, destroying two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the Red Sea and were preparing to launch. The raid marked the ninth round of US strikes on Houthi targets. | |
| The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and its western allies in support of Palestinians in Gaza in its targeting of the Red Sea – and there has been no sign that their attacks on shipping slowed after the first wave of attacks. | The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and its western allies in support of Palestinians in Gaza in its targeting of the Red Sea – and there has been no sign that their attacks on shipping slowed after the first wave of attacks. |
| After US strikes on Monday that were launched in conjunction with the UK, a Houthi army spokesperson said the allied attacks would not go unpunished or unanswered. | |
| Reuters contributed to this report | Reuters contributed to this report |