Iraq condemns 'treacherous' US strikes against Iran-backed militia
US airstrikes struck a civilian airport in Karbala in what the Pentagon said was an operation targeting weapons storage facilities belonging to an Iran-backed Shiite militia group blamed for the recent attack on an Iraqi base housing US and coalition troops.
Retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the United States against Iran-backed militias in Iraq on Thursday struck a civilian airport in Karbala, according to Iraqi defense officials and religious authorities, who say one civilian was killed in the attack. And on Friday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamad Alhakim summoned the US and UK ambassadors over "the recent American aggression," according to a ministry statement.
The Pentagon said the overnight strikes targeted weapons storage facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite militia group US defense officials blame for Wednesday’s deadly attack on an Iraqi base housing US and coalition troops.
Two Americans and one British service member were killed and 14 others wounded after more than a dozen Katyusha rockets struck Camp Taji, a base north of Baghdad.
While US military officials maintain the strikes were “defensive” and “proportional” in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, officials condemned what they saw as a “blatant attack” on a civilian facility. Photos emerged late Thursday night showing the damage inflicted on an airport that was under construction in Karbala.
