Baghdad, Iraq

Iraq's pro-Iran Hashed force on Thursday (Jan 4) condemned the United States for launching a drone strike that killed a military commander of the ex-paramilitary force.

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"A drone targeted the logistical support headquarters of Hashed al-Shaabi," mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, said the security official.

The official further said that the drone attack killed two more members of their militia group.

The strike killed "two members and wounded seven others", said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

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Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the Hashed's factions, released a statement saying that "the deputy commander of operations for Baghdad, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi" had been "martyred in a US strike".

As per news agency AFP, there was no immediate response from the United States officials.

The strike comes in the midst of heightened regional tensions since the war broke out between US ally Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian militant group launched unprecedented attacks against Tel Aviv on Oct 7.

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US armed forces deployed in Iraq and neighbouring country Syria have faced a surge in the number of attacks ever since then.

Also read: Several US state capitols shut down briefly after receiving hoax bomb threats

According to news agency AFP, videos that were shared on a Telegram channel which was linked to the militia group Hashed, showed a plume of smoke rising from where the drone struck.

Iraq accuses US-led coalition of Baghdad strike

The Iraqi government accused the US-led anti-jihadist coalition of the strike and further called it "a blatant aggression" as well as "a dangerous escalation and assault".

"The Iraqi armed forces hold the forces of the international coalition responsible for this attack," Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's office said in a statement. 

Attacks against US targets

Washington has till now counted more than a hundred attacks that were aimed at the US targets in Syria and Iraq since mid-October 2023.

Out of these assaults, many have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that oppose US backing for Israel in the Gaza war.

The United States has around 2,500 troops deployed in Iraq and approximately 900 in Syria as a part of a multinational coalition fighting the Islamic State group. 

The United States military has responded to recent attacks by launching air strikes targeting sites used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria, including Hashed sites.

(With inputs from agencies)