(ConservativeJournal.org) – The U.S. Military used airstrikes to retaliate against Islamic terrorists in Iraq who injured several troops with a Christmas Day drone strike. The Military Times is reporting that U.S. forces have been attacked over 100 times following Israel’s attack on a hospital parking lot in Gaza on October 17th.
The suicide drone attack injured three U.S. troops, one of them critically. They attacked a U.S. military outpost in Erbil, Iraq. The military responded by targeting Kataib Hezbollah, a militia allegedly backed by Iran and based in Iraq. They also used air strikes against other Iranian-backed militia groups that were allegedly involved in the attacks.
U.S. Central Command said that their analysis of the strikes indicated they destroyed facilities used to orchestrate the attacks and killed some enemy militants. They said they had no indication that civilians were killed and that they would continue to monitor and assess the results of their bombing campaigns.
CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said the strikes were designed to target organizations and individuals who were “directly responsible” for the strikes on American forces and our allies in Iraq and Syria. The goal of the strikes is to mitigate or hamper enemy forces’ abilities to conduct future attacks, according to Kurilla.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said other militias who have struck U.S. forces in the area were backed by Iran. He further said U.S. military leadership is attempting to avoid dramatic escalation of the conflict, but will not hesitate to take action to defend military forces, assets, and allies in the area with deadly force.
The Pentagon also blamed an Iranian drone for an attack on a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, December 23rd. The drone strike did minimal damage and caused no injuries. No U.S. naval forces were in the area at the time. The tanker was registered in Liberia, owned by a Japanese company, and operated out of the Netherlands, according to CNN.
Copyright 2024, ConservativeJournal.org
