The attack on US troops in Iraq was thwarted by a drone

A brazen attempt to attack a military base housing US troops in Iraq was met with a decisive attack by US drones.

“US forces killed at least five members of the Iran-backed militia in a drone strike after the US 'identified an imminent attack' likely to have been launched by militia forces in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Sunday, a US official said,” according to CNN. .

“The United States has carried out half a dozen airstrikes against Iran-aligned militias in Iraq and Syria in roughly five weeks, but this appears to be the first known to have been carried out by a drone,” said Air & Space Forces magazine. reported on Sunday.

“Images posted on social media of the aftermath show the remains of a variant of a Hellfire missile among the bodies of dead fighters,” the outlet added. “U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked by militia groups at least 76 times since Oct. 17, a U.S. military official said,” with the latest occurring on Sunday when the forces US and coalition forces at the Rumalyn landing zone, Syria, were targeted by multiple rocket attacks.

US drone strike pic.twitter.com/Q3REK8ATtX

— cagrown5 (@cagrown5) December 4, 2023

“At first, the US limited its attacks on Iranian-backed militias in Syria, even when some of the militias' attacks occurred in Iraq, to ​​avoid politics surrounding Baghdad. But the US now appears more willing to take action in Iraq to protect its roughly 2,500 troops in the country,” Air & Space Forces magazine reported.

The latest drone strike targeted militants from the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba group, according to Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Designated a terrorist organization by the US State Department, the group was founded by militant leader Akram al-Kabbi.

“These defensive attacks on hit cells provide a very tight connection between crime and punishment, which makes it very easy for the Biden administration to claim it's self-defense,” Knights said.

US strike in Syria kills five Iraqi fighters

Five Iraqi Shia militants were killed by a US drone strike. A US Defense official says the strikes were defensive and that the target was a drone staging area.

Shiite militias have attacked US forces in Iraq and Syria in… pic.twitter.com/vudAf5zSnX

— Kyle Anzalone (@KyleAnzalone_) December 3, 2023

President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have said Iraq is doing more to ensure the safety of US troops.

Blinken “called on the Iraqi government to honor its commitments to protect all facilities housing US personnel at its invitation and to prosecute those responsible for attacks against US personnel in Iraq,” said the spokesman Matthew Miller. seconds at a Dec. 1 reading after Blinken's call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani.

“The Secretary and the Prime Minister discussed the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas and the need to prevent the conflict from spreading. The Secretary discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and our work with Iraq and other partners in the region to identify steps we can take now to lay the foundation for a just and lasting peace,” Miller's statement continued.

Attacks have intensified against US warships in the area.

During a speech over the weekend, Austin said the US is “working to stabilize the region” even as “Iran is escalating tensions”.

“And following attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria, our forces repeatedly attacked facilities in Iraq and eastern Syria used by Iran's IRGC and militias affiliated with Iran,” he said. “We will not tolerate attacks on American personnel. And so those attacks must stop. And until they do, we will do what we have to do to protect our troops and impose costs on those who attack them.”

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida, where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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