Iraq slams US after deadly strikes on pro-Iran forces

(BSS/AFP) - US air strikes targeting pro-Iranian forces in Iraq claimed at least one life and drew an angry response fromBaghdad Tuesday amid high regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.     
 Iraq condemned as "a clear hostile act" the overnight US strikes, sayingthey had killed one member of the security forces and wounded 18 other people,including civilians.  
Washington has repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its proxy forcesin Iraq and Syria in response to more than 100 attacks on American and alliedforces since the October 7 outbreak of the Gaza war.      
Yet another rocket barrage was fired later on Tuesday morning at US andallied forces in Syria, at an American patrol base in Al-Shaddadi, but withoutcausing casualties or damage, said a US military official.      
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier announced the overnight strikes,saying that "US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikeson three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq".    
Austin said "these precision strikes are a response to a series of attacksagainst US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias".      
The attacks had included a drone strike Monday by Kataeb Hezbollah andaffiliated groups on Arbil Air Base, Austin said. It wounded three US militarypersonnel, one critically, said US National Security Council spokespersonAdrienne Watson.       
US President Joe Biden had directed the US strikes in a call with Austinand other national security officials, a statement said.       
Biden "places no higher priority than the protection of American personnelserving in harm's way," it added. "The United States will act at a time and ina manner of our choosing should these attacks continue."       
Washington considers the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah, or HezbollahBrigades, a terrorist organisation. The group forms part of the Hashedal-Shaabi coalition of former paramilitary forces integrated into Iraq'sregular armed forces.              - 'No, no to America' -                  
The latest drone attack Monday against American forces was claimed by theIslamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose formation of armed groups affiliated withthe Hashed al-Shaabi.     
 A funeral was held for the dead fighter, attended by dozens of people whoshouted "No, no to America", an AFP photographer said.      
Many in the crowd carried Hashed flags and photos of Iranian commanderQasem Soleimani who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in January 2020.      
A US military tally has counted 105 attacks against its troops in Iraq andSyria since October 17, most claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, whichopposes US support for Israel in its war against Hamas.      
The United States -- which led the 2003 invasion of Iraq that toppledSaddam Hussein -- now has about 2,500 soldiers deployed in Iraq and around 900in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the jihadist IslamicState group.     
Baghdad strongly condemned the latest US military action.       
"It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests inestablishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention ofthe American side to enhance relations with Iraq," it said in a statement.      
Questioned by AFP, an Iraq interior ministry official said one strike hadtargeted a Hashed site in Hilla, capital of Babylon province.       
One person was killed and 20 wounded, the official said, giving a higherinjured toll than the government.       Four others were wounded in a second strike in Wassit province, theofficial said, a casualty toll confirmed by security sources in both Babylonand Wassit provinces.       
One Hashed faction leader, Hadi al-Amiri, denounced the US strikes, in amessage on his Telegram channel, demanding that the Iraqi government "set atimeline for the departure of these foreign forces at the earliestopportunity".       
He charged that their presence had "become a factor of destruction for ourcountry and a threat to our children".