US Carries Out Strikes on Iraqi Paramilitary, Part of Iraqi Armed Forces

The US graduates from facilitating Israeli strikes, to bombing the armed forces of its host nation itself

Our Benevolent Empire
Marko Marjanović 1267 9

The Pentagon says has carried out “defensive” strikes against five bases run by the Iraqi state-sanctioned Kata’ib Hezbollah paramilitary, including three such bases in Iraq:

In response to repeated Kata’ib Hizbollah (KH) attacks on Iraqi bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, U.S. forces have conducted precision defensive strikes against five KH facilities in Iraq and Syria that will degrade KH’s ability to conduct future attacks against OIR coalition forces.

The five targets include three KH locations in Iraq and two in Syria. These locations included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations that KH uses to plan and execute attacks on OIR coalition forces.

Recent KH strikes included a 30-plus rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk that resulted in the death of a U.S. citizen and injured four U.S. service members and two members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

The Pentagon did not say what evidence it has that Kata’ib Hezbollah was behind the rocket artillery attack on the US base. Neither did it explain why it did not refer the matter to the authorities in Baghdad but took matters into its own hands — and to bomb a component of the Iraqi armed forces, no less.

25 Iraqi paramilitary servicemen were slain by their American guests:

Iraqi security and militia sources said at least 25 militia fighters had been killed and at least 55 wounded following three US airstrikes in Iraq on Sunday.

Also, it seems all five strikes were against facilities on either side of the Iraqi-Syrian border at the border town/crossing of al-Qaim, and not anywhere near the Kirkuk base that was hit by the rocket salvo. Even if the rocket attack was carried out by Kata’ib these are no “defensive strikes” but mere punitive bloodletting.

Also recall that months ago Israel was carrying out similar strikes against Iraqi paramilitaries, including in Iraq itself, now the US, which was suspected of providing intelligence support (as well as the airspace), has de facto joined in the fun directly:

Kata’ib Hezbollah reaction:

The wider Iraqi reaction:

Kata’ib Hezbollah is part of Al-Hashd al-Sha’bi or the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is part of Iraqi Armed Forces.

Kata’ib and other militias sprung up in 2014 as a response to ISIS, and specifically as a response to the collapse of the Iraqi Army against ISIS in 2014. They were eventually made part of the official (and salaried) armed forces under the PMF umbrella.

As its name suggests Kata’ib is a particularly Khomeinist outfit, but by letter of the law it is as much a part of the Iraqi state as its police or the army.

9 Comments
  1. Trump Admin Unenthusiastic About Another War With Iran, Iraq After 2 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq Rocket Attack – Anti-Empire

    […] (Popular Mobilization Units — PMU) and used it as a supposed “justification” to bomb Iraqi government forces (paramilitaries, police, soldiers) on the Syrian-Iraqi border just two days later. He then followed […]

  2. Nick Rhynes says

    The US isn;t going anywhere,at least not until they get their return for the investment.

    As mentioned, no law will pass rooting out US troops until they take the parliament. Everything else is hot air.

    Reply
  3. Mary E says

    It is past time for Iraq to join up with Russia – and more with Iran playing a bigger role- to get the US out of the country! The US will always side with Israel and even moreso now that Net and Yahoo has promised the Israelis that the US will have His back. Let the two rogue states pal up, they deserve each other! …just make sure you are watching your backs, Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia. Do Not Trust The US!!!! whatever you do! Just help to get that pestilence gone from that part of the world.

    Reply
  4. B Wilson says

    They want us to stand for the u.s. national anthem ?
    This shit is what our country has devolved into ?
    God help is to put out the candle of its wicked leadership.

    Reply
    1. Mary E says

      Yes it has! Americans can honestly say that they are living in hell.

      Reply
      1. Nick Rhynes says

        Not even close. For all our faults, we’re still living in the greatest country in the greatest time to be alive.

        Reply
  5. kpevt12 . says

    Until there is an overthrow of the entire Iraqi parliament that is paid for by the District of Columbia, no law will pass to remove US forces. If the day comes this happens, the District of Columbia will create another false flag (say 50 US soldiers) having US soldiers killed and then declaring Iraq a state sponsor of terror and send in more troops. The end game is Iran, with Iran gone … Russia is next. The best thing that can happen is that whoever the new people representative government of Iraq is, they sign a mutual defense agreement with Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. Together the District of Columbia will have no place to put troops and can be attacked from all sides. The District of Columbia needs a huge conflict or war to maintain the dollar and the military industrial complex. They also need a way to keep the middle east in complete chaos … looks to me they are working on a way to accomplish this.

    Reply
  6. OzricTentacle says

    Not only did America invade Iraq in 2003 under absolutely false pretexts, it still is in the country, has pillaged the oil and gold, and god only knows the amount of crimes the American soldiers committed upon the Iraqi people. Yet now again the American high command green lights strikes in Iraq, and against whom? Against the militia’s that are obliterating the very same Isis/Al Qaeda mercenaries that are directly or indirectly paid by the USA. Certainly indirectly, these mercenaries are paid by the American taxpayer, who has very little to do with the never ending war on ‘terror’. Even in my little country of Belgium, we just purchased the F35 from America, to replace our ageing fleet of F16’s. In Belgium we have absolutely no need whatsoever to have fighter jets, and one could argue even the necessity of the existence of the entire Belgian army. The fact that we bought the F35, which is still not being the one solution fighter jet to replace all others, while there are other, cheaper, and better performing jets readily procurable, the military high command went over and (someway) behind our minister of defense’s back to seal the deal with the American MIC. In Belgium we have an alarming growing number of working poor, with in the 2019 an alarming 17% of children in Flanders (richest region in Belgium) living the below the poverty line. Yet we bend over because the American MIC demanded us to do so. It seems America has had the privilege of looting the world since the second world war, and has had the freedom of narrative navigation to promote itself as the world’s police against the backdrop of a dark and dangerous world filled with evil countries. These countries include North Korea, Panama, Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon,…..and so on and so on and so on. One thing that history never fails to repeat though, is the applied law of action and reaction, the cycling of whatever forces are applied in the universe as well as on this tiny planet. All empires fail in due time, yet this American empire has committed an absolute record in atrocities around the globe. How and when will America pay for these high crimes?

    Reply
  7. Grand Nagus Zek says

    hope they boot the empire out now

    Reply

Reply To kpevt12 .
Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Anti-Empire