(Baghdad) A senior commander of the Hezbollah Brigades, an influential pro-Iran Iraqi armed group, was killed Wednesday evening by an American strike targeting his vehicle in the Iraqi capital, with Washington accusing him of being involved in planning attacks targeting its soldiers in the Middle East.
This new strike in Baghdad, almost a week after American bombings in Iraq and Syria, comes as Washington is committed to continuing reprisals against armed pro-Iran groups: a drone attack on January 28 killed three American soldiers in the middle of the Jordanian desert, on the Syrian border.
Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a senior commander of the Hezbollah Brigades – Kataëb Hezbollah in Arabic – was killed Wednesday in the drone strike, an official of this influential faction told AFP, specifying that this leader was responsible for “military file” in Syria.
The US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) confirmed a strike in Iraq, claiming to have killed “a Kataeb Hezbollah commander directly responsible for planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region”.
“The United States will continue to take necessary actions to protect our own,” according to the statement, which indicates that Washington will hold accountable “all those who threaten the security of our forces.” »
In Baghdad, an AFP photographer was able to see a large security deployment blocking all access to the site of the strike. In the evening the carcass of the car, which was nothing more than a pile of charred sheet metal, had been removed.
In total, three people, “two leaders” of the Hezbollah Brigades and their driver, died in the attack on the vehicle, an official at the Ministry of the Interior told AFP, also speaking under cover of anonymity.
“A drone fired three rockets against a 4X4 car” in the Machtal district in eastern Baghdad, this official told AFP.
Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of former paramilitaries bringing together pro-Iran armed factions, confirmed the death of Commander Saadi in a press release.
“Imprint of the Kataeb”
Classified as a “terrorist” group by Washington and targeted by sanctions, the Hezbollah Brigades have already been targeted in recent weeks by American strikes in Iraq.
The group is considered one of the leaders of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a nebula of pro-Iran fighters who have claimed dozens of attacks in recent weeks against American soldiers and their partners in an international anti-jihadist coalition, in Iraq and in Syria.
In total since mid-October, more than 165 rocket attacks and drone strikes have targeted American soldiers in the Middle East, violence fueled by the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.
The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” justifies its action by highlighting its solidarity with Gaza, but also by demanding the departure from Iraq of the 2,500 American soldiers deployed as part of the anti-jihadist coalition.
Officials in Washington have already assured that the drone attack in Jordan bore “the imprint of Kataeb Hezbollah”.
Faced with the threat of an American response, the group announced at the end of January “the suspension” of its attacks against American forces, while calling on its fighters to “practice passive defense in the event of hostile American action against them” .
Nearly a week ago, the United States had already carried out strikes in Syria and Iraq against targets of elite Iranian forces and pro-Iran armed groups.
These bombings, targeting areas in Iraq on the border with Syria, killed 16 Hachd al-Chaabi fighters.
For weeks, the Iraqi government has been unable to extricate itself from regional tensions, despite intense diplomatic efforts with its American and Iranian partners in particular.