U.S. Strikes Gets Stronger on Iranian Proxies in Iraq and Yemen

A series of airstrikes were carried out by the U.S. on Tuesday, targeting facilities in Iraq that were being used by Iranian-backed militias. Additionally, American officials reported that two Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen were also struck.

The Biden administration has been striving to prevent the escalation of the conflict in Gaza to other parts of the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack. However, Axios’ Barak Ravid points out that as time goes on, achieving this goal is becoming increasingly challenging.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that, in response to President Biden’s orders, U.S. military forces have carried out targeted strikes on three facilities utilized by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq. This action was deemed necessary and proportionate by the administration.

• “The recent precision strikes have been carried out as a direct response to a series of escalating attacks on U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria. These attacks have been attributed to militias with Iranian sponsorship.”
• In a statement released on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command announced that it had carried out airstrikes against the facilities of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group. The strikes were described as “unilateral” and specifically targeted the headquarters, storage areas, and training locations used by the group for their rocket, missile, and one-way attack UAV capabilities.

On Saturday, an attack took place at al-Assad Airbase in western Iraq, targeting U.S. forces. According to CENTCOM, the assailants, believed to be backed by Iran, launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and rockets. Unfortunately, this assault resulted in traumatic brain injuries for four American personnel.

In a recent development, CENTCOM has reported that its forces successfully targeted Houthi missiles in the Southern Red Sea region. The strike, which took place at 2:30am on Wednesday local time, was aimed at preventing the rebels from launching these missiles, which were allegedly intended to target merchant and commercial vessels. This action comes as part of ongoing efforts to counter the Iranian-backed rebels’ attacks in the area.