US retaliates against Iran-backed forces in Iraq after missile strike

The US carried out strikes against an Iranian-backed militant group in Iraq on Thursday, in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed two American troops and a British soldier earlier this week.

According to the Pentagon, the warplanes undertook “defensive precision strikes against Kata’ib Hizbollah facilities across Iraq. These strikes were defensive, proportional and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups.”

There have been tensions between both countries since Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in January.

Mark Esper, US secretary of defence, blamed Kata’ib Hizbollah, for the rocket attack on the base of US-led coalition forces earlier this week and the Pentagon confirmed that the US military had targeted five Kata’ib Hizbollah sites across Iraq.

According to the Financial Times, a senior administration official said Trump had been clear that “we will not stand for the Iranian regime attacking Americans in Iraq or elsewhere, whether directly or through proxies.”

Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, said: “The United States will take additional action as necessary in self defence and to deter attacks from Iranian-backed militia groups.”