odanny
Diamond Member
Should we be reaching out to kill Iranian terrorists? Does it make the possibility of attacks on American troops in Iraq even greater when we take out the Iranian terrorist leaders? Kill one and 5 or 10 more will gladly take their place. If the intent of having troops in Iraq is to lessen terrorism, has the Pentagon considered it could be doing the opposite?
BAGHDAD — A U.S. airstrike here on Thursday killed an Iran-linked militia commander and risked accelerating the regional fallout from Washington’s support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza, even as theBiden administration scrambles to contain the bloodshed.
Explosions occurred in the central part of the city, rattling windows and prompting Iraqi authorities to close off nearby streets. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a militia that has claimed several attacks on U.S. forces, said its deputy commander of operations in the Baghdad region, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi, also known as Abu Taqwa, was killed at a logistical support headquarters on Palestine Street.
While the United States has targeted militia-affiliated locations in Iraq and Syria several times in recent months, an American operation in such a central location of Iraq’s capital is exceedingly rare. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba falls under the command of the Iraqi army, which responded swiftly — and in anger — saying agreements between Baghdad and Washington had been violated.
A Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, described the strike as “a necessary and proportionate action” against a militant leader “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.” An “associate” of Abu Taqwa also was killed, Ryder said, though he did not identify the individual. The general noted that no civilians were injured in the strike and no infrastructure was damaged, a claim the The Washington Post could not independently verify.
Ryder declined to say whether the United States had notified the Iraqi government before the strike. Asked if Washington had breached any agreement with Baghdad, he said that the Pentagon retains the right to self-defense anywhere U.S. forces are threatened.
BAGHDAD — A U.S. airstrike here on Thursday killed an Iran-linked militia commander and risked accelerating the regional fallout from Washington’s support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza, even as theBiden administration scrambles to contain the bloodshed.
Explosions occurred in the central part of the city, rattling windows and prompting Iraqi authorities to close off nearby streets. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a militia that has claimed several attacks on U.S. forces, said its deputy commander of operations in the Baghdad region, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi, also known as Abu Taqwa, was killed at a logistical support headquarters on Palestine Street.
While the United States has targeted militia-affiliated locations in Iraq and Syria several times in recent months, an American operation in such a central location of Iraq’s capital is exceedingly rare. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba falls under the command of the Iraqi army, which responded swiftly — and in anger — saying agreements between Baghdad and Washington had been violated.
A Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, described the strike as “a necessary and proportionate action” against a militant leader “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.” An “associate” of Abu Taqwa also was killed, Ryder said, though he did not identify the individual. The general noted that no civilians were injured in the strike and no infrastructure was damaged, a claim the The Washington Post could not independently verify.
Ryder declined to say whether the United States had notified the Iraqi government before the strike. Asked if Washington had breached any agreement with Baghdad, he said that the Pentagon retains the right to self-defense anywhere U.S. forces are threatened.
