{"id":62245,"date":"2020-03-12T22:43:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T22:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/12\/officials-us-strikes-iran-backed-group-that-hit-iraq-base-killing-2-american-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:45:53","slug":"officials-us-strikes-iran-backed-group-that-hit-iraq-base-killing-2-american-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/2020\/03\/12\/officials-us-strikes-iran-backed-group-that-hit-iraq-base-killing-2-american-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon: US strikes Iran-backed group that hit Iraq base"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Pentagon said Thursday the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes targeting an Iranian-backed Shia militia group believed responsible for the rocket attack that killed and wounded American and British troops <\/a>at a base north of Baghdad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon said it struck five Kataib Hezbollah<\/a> weapons facilities inside Iraq to \u201csignificantly degrade their ability to conduct future attacks against Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The storage facilities targeted in the strikes stored weapons used to target U.S. and coalition troops, according to the Pentagon. The Defense Department said Thursday\u2019s \u201cdefensive\u201d strikes were \u201cproportional\u201d and a \u201cdirect response\u201d to the threat of Iran-backed<\/a> groups operating in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe United States will not tolerate attacks against our people, our interests, or our allies,\u201d Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in the release. \u201cAs we have demonstrated in recent months, we will take any action necessary to protect our forces in Iraq and the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strikes were a partnered operation with the British, a U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because operations were still going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\t