by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As part of an effort to prevent the ongoing Israel-Hamas war from escalating into a regional conflict fueled by Iran, the United States, just after midnight on Wednesday, carried out retaliatory airstrikes against facilities in Iraq that were being used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia and other jihadist groups to attack US and Coalition targets in the region, Axios reports.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday (US time): “Today, at President Biden’s direction, US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq. 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.”
“We do not seek to escalate conflict in the region,” Austin asserted. “We are fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities. We call on these groups and their Iranian sponsors to immediately cease these attacks.”
In a separate statement, the US Central Command said: “In response to attacks by the Iranian-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah, including the attack on al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq on Jan. 20, on Jan. 24 at 12:15 a.m. (Iraq time), US CENTCOM forces conducted unilateral airstrikes against three facilities used by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq.”
“These strikes targeted KH headquarters, storage, and training locations for rocket, missile, and one-way attack UAV capabilities,” CENTCOM said.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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