A Senior Commander of an Iran-backed militia has been reportedly killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, on Wednesday night 7th February 2024.

A leader of Kataib Hezbollah and two of his guards who were in the vehicle all died. The vehicle was targeted in the East of the Iraqi Capital.

The Pentagon stated that the Commander was responsible for directing attacks on American forces in the region.

The US has linked the militia to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three US troops last month.

In the wake of that attack, Kataib Hezbollah said it was suspending attacks on American troops to prevent “embarrassment” to the Iraqi Government.

Wednesday 7th night’s drone raid occurred in Baghdad’s Mashtal neighborhood, causing several loud explosions.

It was a precise strike on a moving vehicle in a busy street and the car was badly damaged.

One of the victims was identified as Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a Senior Commander in Kataib Hezbollah.

“US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed the incident saying the attack at 21:30 local time (18:30 GMT) had killed the “Commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region”.

“There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time,” the Centcom statement said.

The raid comes days after the US launched 85 strikes in the Iraq-Syria border area in retaliation for the fatal 28 January 2024 drone attack on American troops at a base in Jordan.

President Joe Biden described last Friday’s, 2nd February 2024 wave of attacks as just the beginning of the US response.

The drone raid in the Iraqi Capital will be seen as a major escalation.

But it was perhaps inevitable that the American strategy would include targeting not only the infrastructure used by the group but also their senior leaders.

Shortly after Wednesday’s attack, militias in the country called for retaliation against the US.

Harakat al Nujaba – another group blamed for attacks against American troops – released a statement promising a “targeted retaliation”, adding that “these crimes will not go unpunished,” according to reports.

On 4 January 2024, the US launched an airstrike in Baghdad that killed a Senior Leader of Harakat al Nujaba.

American forces have been hit with more than 165 rocket and drone strikes since the Israel-Gazaa war began on 7 October 2023.

The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria in a mission to combat the Islamic State terror group, says the Pentagon.

The American military has also recently launched attacks against the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen, in response to attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea.

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