(ConservativeJournal.org) – The U.S. military launched a drone attack which it said killed an Iraqi terrorist leader that had perpetrated attacks on U.S. forces and allies. A U.S. official speaking anonymously claimed the strike hit a vehicle at their headquarters in Baghdad which took out a high-ranking official within the Harakat al Nujaba organization without specifying a name.
Reuters reported that police told them that the strike killed four additional militiamen and injured six more. Witnesses describe multiple rocket strikes hitting inside the building the group used for operations.
A spokesman for the police said that a local commander was killed along with one of his close aides. After the police had time to clear the debris the death toll rose. One of the wounded also died as a result of his injuries.
Iraqi militia men threatened retaliation for the strike against the U.S. Abu Aqeel al-Moussawi from the Iraqi Militia said to anticipate their retaliation against what he called American aggression.
Witnesses describe seeing rockets hitting a vehicle parked inside the building. Video was uploaded to social media which showed a burned out vehicle bathed in flames which accompanying captions indicated was a result of the strike. Reuters couldn’t verify the authenticity of the claims posted to social media, however.
Security and police were deployed to the area to help aid clean up and recovery efforts, and an investigation is ongoing.
U.S. forces have launched several strikes in the Middle East since the conflict in Israel and Gaza flared up, increasing tensions in the region. Authorities always justify the strikes as targeting enemy forces who have attacked U.S. forces or its allies recently. U.S. forces attacked Iraqi territory last month after a drone attack by alleged Iran-backed fighters injured several U.S. military personnel, leaving one of them in critical condition.
The U.S. authorities have said their forces have been attacked over a hundred times since the invasion of Israel’s military into Gaza in response to Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7th.
Copyright 2024, ConservativeJournal.org
