Pro-Iranian militia car explodes following airstrike in Iraq
Senior members of the pro-Iran Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah group were killed on Wednesday in a drone strike when they were traveling in their car in Baghdad. At least three people died in the attack that took place in the city's eastern Mashtal neighborhood, sources said. Arab media showed footage of the burning vehicle. Later, another attack was reported in the Jamila district, to the east of Baghdad.
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British Sky News network in Arabic reported that the targeted vehicle belonged to al-Hachd al-Chaabi - the umbrella organization of the pro-Iran militias in Iraq. According to the network, in the vehicle were two commanders of the "Kataib Hezbollah" the militia that was responsible for killing three American soldiers late last month in an attack on a base in Jordan.
The U.S. military said it had carried out the attack days after its forces struck 85 pro-Iranian militia targets and Iranian Quds Force targets in Iraq and Syria.
After taking responsibility for the attack in Jordan, the Kataib Hezbollah announced "the suspension" of their attacks against American forces, while calling on their fighters to "practice passive defense in the event of "hostile American action against them". Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the pro-Iranian militias have significantly increased the number of missile and UAV attacks against American forces in the Middle East, intending to pressure Washington to end the campaign in Gaza. The attack in Jordan was the first in which American soldiers were killed.
Since mid-October, more than 165 attacks have targeted American soldiers and their partners in the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria. Most were claimed by a nebula of pro-Iranian armed groups called the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”.