U.S. wages retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq after deadly attack

webfact · March 13, 2020

U.S. wages retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq after deadly attack

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, speaks during a joint news conference with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,(unseen) in Kabul, Afghanistan February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States waged a series of precision air strikes on Thursday against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq that it blamed for a major rocket attack a day earlier that killed two American troops and a 26-year-old British soldier.

The U.S. strikes appeared limited in scope and narrowly tailored, targeting five weapons storage facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah militants - including facilities used to store weaponry for past attacks on U.S.-led coalition troops, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. military did not estimate how many people in Iraq may have been killed in the U.S. strikes, which officials said were carried out by piloted aircraft.

But there no was no indication of the kind of high-profile killings that President Donald Trump authorized in January, when the United States targeted a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.

U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper, in a Pentagon statement detailing the strikes, cautioned that the United States was prepared to respond again, if needed.

"We will take any action necessary to protect our forces in Iraq and the region," Esper said.

Trump had been quick to authorize the U.S. military to respond following Wednesday's attack in Iraq, in which militants fired dozens of 107 mm Katyusha rockets from a truck, striking Iraq's Taji military camp north of Baghdad.

Out of the roughly 30 rockets fired, some 18 hit the base.

It was the third time in recent months the U.S. military lashed out against Kataib Hezbollah. It killed more than two dozen militants in December in response to an attack on an Iraqi base that killed a U.S. contractor. The U.S. military drone strike in January that targeted Soleimani also killed Kataib Hezbollah founder Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

It was unclear whether the latest strikes would deter the militants from further action. The rocket attack on Taji took place on what would have been Soleimani's 63rd birthday, suggesting the militants were still looking for revenge.

Iran retaliated for the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani by launching missiles from its territory at an Iraq base hosting U.S. troops - leaving more than 100 U.S. forces with brain injuries.

In the latest attack, 14 U.S.-led coalition personnel were wounded, including American, British, Polish and other nationals. Private-industry contractors were among the wounded.

U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that five of the wounded were categorized as "urgent," suggesting serious injuries that could require rapid medical evacuation.

The UK named its fallen service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon. The United States has not yet identified the U.S. service members killed.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)

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smedly · March 13, 2020

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

The UK named its fallen service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon. The United States has not yet identified the U.S. service members killed.

RIP

Tug · March 13, 2020

I hope it stops there we the USA and Iran have enough on our plates rite now

evadgib · March 13, 2020

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The UK named its fallen service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon.

Quote

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the tragic death of Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon whilst on duty in the Middle East on 11 March 2020.

LCpl Gillon, 26, served as a Reserve with the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry. She joined the regiment in September 2015 as a Combat Medical Technician (CMT), where she quickly progressed through her trade and military training to qualify as a Class 1 Combat Medical Technician in 2018.

Always looking for new opportunities to challenge herself and develop more experience, LCpl Gillon volunteered to be part of the Royal Guard at Ballater, Scotland in 2019 and then again to be part of the Irish Guards Battle Group during their deployment to Iraq in 2020. It was during her time with the Irish Guards Battle Group that she was tragically killed in action following an incident at Camp Taji on 11 March.

Ministry of Defence confirms the death of Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon