A surgical operation performed in the heart of Baghdad. The target was an SUV carrying three people, including two leading exponents of Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the Iraqi Shiite militias involved in actions against US targets in the past. The origin of the raid is American. Two of the people killed are Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi and Arkan Al-Aliyawi, the former is considered the “main technical planner of the attacks on American bases in Iraq and Syria”.
The operation took place in a main artery of the Mashtal neighborhood, in the eastern part of the Iraqi capital. Security forces closed the heavily guarded Green Zone, where numerous diplomatic compounds are located, while a crowd of protesters chanted anti-American slogans and threatened to march on the US embassy.
The raid occurred “in response to attacks against American service members” and killed “a Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for planning and directly participating in attacks against American forces in the region”, explains the US military Central Command (Centcom ), underlining that “there are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties”. Before the US claimed responsibility, a security official had told AFP that “a drone launched three rockets at a 4X4 car”, targeting “two leaders” of the pro-Tehran group. And a member of the faction had already announced that among those killed was a commander of the group, responsible for military affairs in Syria. Earlier, another security official said the struck vehicle was carrying an official from Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of mainly pro-Iranian paramilitaries now integrated into Iraq's regular security forces.
The raid on Baghdad is only the latest episode of the escalation of tensions between the United States and pro-Iranian groups that have followed one another in the wake of Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. US forces on Friday launched an airstrike on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iran-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US servicemen in Jordan in late January. 85 targets were hit in seven different sites reached by rockets, missiles and drones for a total of over 125 shots used. The United States has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a broad coalition of Iranian-backed militias, for the attack on Tower 22 in Jordan. Washington suspects Kataeb Hezbollah, who would have a leading role in the theme. Claims in this sense had reached La Stampa from Haider Al-Ami, leader of al-Nujaba (Movement of the Nobles of God Party), technically the 12th Brigade, a Shiite formation close to Iran and belonging to the IRI network, stating that they are in retaliation for Washington's support for Israel in its war in Gaza that has killed 27,707 Palestinians, according to Hamas' Ministry of Health.
However, immediately after the attack in Jordan, Kataeb Hezbollah announced the suspension of all action against American troops to avoid “embarrassing the Iraqi government”. Other groups, such as al-Nujaba, have instead stated that they will continue hostile actions against US assets and forces. IRI also said on Sunday that a drone attack on a base hosting US troops in eastern Syria killed six fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led formation allied with the US which played a role fundamental in the fight against ISIS, sometimes right alongside pro-Iranian groups. Since mid-October, American and allied troops have been attacked more than 165 times in the Middle East. Yesterday's raid also comes at the same time as Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of the terms proposed by Hamas for an agreement on the release of the hostages which would lead to a permanent ceasefire. The Israeli prime minister has promised to continue the war until “absolute victory”. Also yesterday, the press office of the Houthi rebels in Yemen reported two air strikes in the Ras Issa area, in the Salif district, in the province of Hodeida.
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