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| Credit: AP |
Forces attacked Houthi launchers readying Red Sea attacks, as well as three Kataeb Hezbollah locations in Iraq, in reaction to what US military commanders termed 'escalatory strikes' by Iran-backed militants.
The US military targeted three installations in Iraq and two anti-ship missiles in Yemen owned by Iranian-backed militias, which have continued to launch assaults on US people and ships in the region as the US attempts to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from escalating into a larger confrontation.
The midnight raids on Iraq and Yemen targeted sites thought to be involved in attacks on US soldiers in Iraq and Syria, as well as threats to US military and commercial boats in the Red Sea.
In a statement released Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the attacks in Iraq were ordered by US President Joe Biden and targeted facilities utilized by the Iranian-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia organization and other Iran-affiliated entities in Iraq.
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| Credit: via REUTERS |
"These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias," he added. The attacks targeted militia installations in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, al-Qaim, and an undisclosed location in western Iraq, according to two US officials.
Late Tuesday, US Central Command claimed that it had also destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were directed at the Southern Red Sea and about to launch.
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| Credit: AP |
"US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region," Central Command stated.
Both fronts — land attacks in Iraq and Syria, and maritime attacks from Yemen — have experienced a dramatic increase in launches and counterstrikes in recent days. In Iraq, US attacks against Kataeb Hezbollah locations came only hours after the US said terrorists fired two one-way attack drones at al-Asad Air Base, wounding US service men and damage infrastructure. They followed the militia's most major attack on the air base this year, which involved the launch of numerous ballistic missiles on Saturday.
The US Central Command stated that it targeted Kataeb Hezbollah's headquarters, storage, and training facilities for rocket, missile, and one-way attack drone capabilities.
US defenses intercepted the first drone strike against al-Asad on Tuesday, but it fell on base, and the second drone also hit the base, according to US authorities. The injuries, which included traumatic brain damage and smoke inhalation, were reported to be mild. The officials talked on the condition of anonymity to provide information that had not been made public.
Tuesday's strikes on Houthi missile launch facilities in Yemen follow a coordinated operation Monday night in which the US and UK employed Tomahawk missiles launched from warships and submarines as well as fighter planes to destroy Houthi missile storage locations, drones, and launchers.
On both fronts, Iranian-backed militias have used ballistic missiles to strike US bases and ships, signaling an escalation, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies specializing on Iran. The militias often strike using drones and missiles. According to Taleblu, Tehran gave Shia militants in Iraq with short- and close-range ballistic missiles in 2019, but they had not been utilized until the November strikes.
During Saturday's larger-scale attack, Iranian-backed terrorists launched many ballistic missiles and rockets against al-Asad, but the majority were intercepted by air defense systems, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday. She stated that other bombs impacted the base.
Al-Asad is a huge air facility in western Iraq where US troops have trained Iraqi security forces and are now coordinating operations against the Islamic State organization.
Singh described Saturday's attack as a "barrage." It was the first time since November 20 that Iranian proxy troops in Iraq launched ballistic missiles toward US sites in Iraq.
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| Credit: AP |
A network of militias calling themselves the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on US soldiers. Kataeb Hezbollah is one of the organizations under that umbrella organization.
Iran has also delivered ballistic missiles to the Houthis, making them the first Iranian proxy to launch medium-range and anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to Taleblu.
"With Yemen, think of it as an intensification of the problem," Taleblu went on to say.
Four US service men were injured in Saturday's ballistic missile strike on al-Asad; all have since returned to duty. One Iraqi security personnel was also hurt.
Israel and Hamas went to war in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian terror group launched a catastrophic attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians. Terrorists who crossed the border into Gaza also kidnapped 253 individuals and took them as hostages in the Palestinian coastal enclave, with the majority of them still being held.
Israel reacted to the incident with a military operation aimed at destroying Hamas, removing it from power in Gaza, and releasing the captives.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, over 151 strikes on US sites in Syria and Iraq have occurred. According to the Pentagon, two assaults occurred on Monday: numerous rockets were launched at US and coalition personnel at Mission Support Site Euphrates in Syria, and one rocket was fired at the Rumalyn Landing Zone in Syria. Neither attack caused casualties or damage.
Late last month, the US launched a wave of retaliatory attacks on militia groups after three US service members were injured in a drone assault in northern Iraq. Kataeb Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the strike, which was carried out by a one-way drone.
The US responded by bombing three sites, damaging installations and possibly killing a number of Kataeb Hezbollah members, according to the White House at the time.
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