The US targeted a member of an Iranian proxy group with “US blood on his hands” in a strike in Iraq, a US official told CNN.
The target was a member of Harakat al-Nujaba, the official said, an Iranian proxy operating in Iraq and Syria, and the US had been watching him for some time before the strike.
A second US defense official said, “The United States is continuing to take action to protect our forces in Iraq and Syria by addressing the threats they face.”
A third defense official confirmed later on Thursday that US forces “took necessary and proportionate action against Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari (a.k.a Abu-Taqwa), who was a Harakat-al-Nujaba leader. Abu-Taqwa was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.”
The official said the strike also killed one more member of Harakat al-Nujaba.
The strike was taken in self defense, the official added, saying that no civilians were injured in the attack.
The strike comes as tensions in the Middle East increase amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the regular attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria — at least 118 since October 17 — as well as ongoing attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
The US has said it does not want to see a broader conflict spill into the region and despite the ongoing attacks, defense officials have maintained for weeks that the US’ message of deterrence in the region is working.
It is unclear at this point whether the Iraqi government was notified ahead of the strike, especially since the strike was carried out in the capital. Iraq’s government has condemned US strikes carried out within its borders, calling them violations of Iraq’s sovereignty.
The strike is the second time in just over a week that the US has targeted Iran-backed militants inside Iraq. On December 25, the US struck three facilities inside Iraq used by the Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah and killed several of the militants after the group attacked Erbil Air Base and wounded three US service members, one critically.
The US has called on the Iraqi government to do more to protect US forces in the region and to go after those who carry out attacks against US and coalition forces.
The State Department announced in March 2019 that HAN and its leader, Akram ‘Abbas al-Kabi, had been designated Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
According to the announcement, HAN is an Iranian proxy militia based in Iraq that has pledged loyalty to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
This story has been updated with additional information.