The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it thwarted five militants who were preparing to launch an attack drone in Iraq, killing all five and destroying the drone.
Iran-backed Attacks
Iran-backed militias have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria at least 76 times since October 17, according to U.S. defense officials.
American Response
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that U.S. forces informed Iraqi security forces about the strike and responded to the site, confirming that the militants were killed and the drone was destroyed.
Ongoing Attacks
There have been 36 recorded attacks in Iraq and 40 attacks in Syria using attack drones, missiles, and short-range ballistic missiles.
Escalation of Attacks
The escalation of targeting U.S. forces began in the days following the delivery of weapons to Israel and the deployment of fighter aircraft and thousands of troops and aircraft carriers to the Middle East in response to the Hamas attack.
U.S. Response
Although these attacks have been limited in Iraq and Syria overall, U.S. warships have come under the threat of missiles and shells fired by Iran-backed groups, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
U.S. Reaction
On Monday, a U.S. defense official said the USS Carney warship destroyed a Houthi drone that was heading toward it in the Red Sea. The Carney also witnessed the launch of one ballistic missile aimed at a civilian commercial ship, and while assisting the exploratory unit Unity, it shot down another Houthi drone. This came a day after U.S. military personnel intercepted an Iranian drone near the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, which a U.S. defense official said was conducting flight operations and made the drone’s presence unsafe for any other aircraft in the immediate airspace.
U.S. Escalation
The U.S. military stated that they have every reason to believe that the four attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea on Monday were fully enabled by Iran, even though they were launched by the Houthis in Yemen, adding that the U.S. would consider “all appropriate responses.”
Future U.S. Response
Discussions are ongoing in Washington about how to respond to Iran — which the U.S. blames for these attacks — without dragging the U.S. into another conflict in the Middle East.
President Joe Biden has ordered very few retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed targets inside Syria and one in Iraq. An American commander in the region ordered a separate attack after observing militants attacking U.S. forces inside Iraq last month.
The Department of Defense stated that it reserves the right to respond at the right time and place. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Iraqi officials to protect U.S. forces in the country, who are there at the request of the Iraqi government.
However, following the latest U.S. response to defend its forces, the Iraqi Prime Minister publicly criticized the United States for “violating Iraq’s sovereignty,” affirming that Baghdad is committed to ensuring the safety of international forces in Iraq.
From November 17 to 21, six separate attacks were conducted against U.S. forces in Iraq. The U.S. responded in kind for the first time on November 21 inside Iraq after three similar retaliatory operations inside Syria. The Department of Defense stated that the military attacked two facilities used by Iran-backed militants, with many believed to have been killed.
The attacks carried out by Iran-backed groups have not ceased to target Americans in Iraq and Syria. On November 22, an attack drone was launched at the Erbil base, but no casualties or damage were reported. The following day, on the morning of November 23, multiple attack drones targeted forces at the Ain al-Assad base and the Erbil base. That was the last recorded attack in Iraq until Monday, when militants were preparing to launch an attack drone. U.S. forces responded, killing the five militants and destroying the drone, according to CENTCOM.
Stopped
The attacks occurred during part of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which lasted from November 24 to December 1.
No attacks against U.S. forces in Syria or Iraq were recorded from November 24 to November 28. At least three attacks have been reported since the ceasefire in Gaza ended.
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