By Katabella Roberts
Contributing Writer
U.S. forces in Iraq carried out an airstrike south of Baghdad on Tuesday in response to an alleged attempted attack involving an unmanned drone, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson has confirmed.
“Tonight, U.S. forces in Iraq conducted a defensive airstrike in the Musayib in Babil Province, targeting combatants attempting to launch one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems,” a spokesperson for CENTCOM — which oversees operations in the region — said in an emailed statement.
Based on recent attacks in Iraq and Syria, CENTCOM assessed that the drone “posed a threat to U.S. and Coalition Forces,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not provide details regarding the exact time of the strike or whether it resulted in any deaths or injuries.
“This action underscores the United States’ commitment to the safety and security of our personnel,” the spokesperson said. “We maintain the inherent right to self-defense and will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
The airstrike marks the first known U.S. strike in Iraq since February, when U.S. forces launched strikes in both Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its elite Quds Force, and affiliated groups that officials say have repeatedly targeted U.S. troops.
February’s strikes were in response to an attack near a military base in Jordan one week prior. That attack left three U.S. Army reservists dead and 40 more injured.
Since February, attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria generally came to a halt amid a truce, although two attacks were launched in April.
U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled former leader Saddam Hussein before withdrawing in 2011. They returned in 2014 to help the Iraqi government defeat the ISIS terrorist group.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah worsened further after the Israel Defense Forces said an airstrike in Beirut killed Hezbollah’s most senior commander, Fuad Shukr, who is also known as “Sayyid Muhsan.”
The IDF said the military strike on a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut’s suburbs was in response to an earlier attack on the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday.
Shukr was Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s right-hand man and served as his adviser for planning and directing wartime operations, according to the IDF.
The IDF said Shukr was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs.
Dan M. Berger contributed to this report.
