- Aura Guerin & Hugo Bachega
- BBC News, Baghdad
Watch video: BBC’s Orla Guerin goes to the scene of US drone attack in Baghdad
A senior commander of an Iranian-backed militia has been killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
The Kataib Hezbollah leader and two of his bodyguards were in a car when it was targeted in the eastern part of the Iraqi capital. All three died.
The Pentagon announced that the commander would be responsible for directing attacks against U.S. forces in the region.
The United States has linked militias to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers last month.
Following the attack, Kataib Hezbollah announced it would suspend attacks on US forces to prevent “embarrassment” to the Iraqi government.
Wednesday night’s drone attack occurred in Baghdad’s Mashtar district and caused several large explosions.
It accurately hit a vehicle traveling on a busy street, causing major damage to the vehicle.
One of the victims was identified as Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a senior commander of Kataib Hezbollah.
image source, Getty Images
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said the attack was carried out at 21:30 local time (18:30 Japan time) and killed “a commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks against U.S. forces in the region.” announced that it had been done.
In a statement, Centcom said there was “no indication of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time.”
When the BBC’s reporting team arrived at the scene, a large crowd of demonstrators gathered and chanted “America is the biggest devil”.
There was a heavy police presence and special forces from Iraq’s Interior Ministry also participated.
image source, Getty Images
A BBC team tried to approach the burnt-out vehicle but were turned away by onlookers who insisted journalists were not welcome.
“You are foreigners,” one man shouted, adding: “Foreigners also have this responsibility.”
There were also reports of crowds heading to the heavily fortified US embassy to protest.
The raids came days after the United States launched 85 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for deadly drone attacks on U.S. forces on January 28.
President Joe Biden said last Friday’s attacks were just the beginning of the U.S. response.
A drone raid on the Iraqi capital would be seen as a major escalation of the US response. Previous attacks had only targeted the Iraq-Syria border area.
But it was perhaps inevitable that US strategy would include targeting not only the infrastructure used by the group, but also its senior leadership.
Immediately after Wednesday’s attack, domestic militias called for retaliation against the United States.
Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, U.S. forces have been attacked almost daily by rockets and drones.
On January 4, the United States launched airstrikes against Harakat al-Nujaba leaders in Baghdad. This organization has also been held responsible for attacks on U.S. forces.
The United States has dispatched about 2,500 troops to Iraq and about 900 troops to neighboring Syria in the fight against the terrorist organization “Islamic State”.
Additional reporting by Sangar Khaleel and Max Matza