US targeted member of Iranian proxy group in Iraq strike, US official says
(CNN) — 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.
Posted — UpdatedThe 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.”
The strike in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad was against a vehicle believed to be carrying the target, the official said. The US is still going through a battle damage assessment to determine if the target was killed and whether there were others in or near the car at the time of the strike.
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 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.
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