US airstrike kills high-ranking Iranian-backed terrorist in Iraq

A US airstrike on Wednesday eliminated a senior commander of the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

“At 9:30 p.m. February 7, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region. There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted to X.

“The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people. We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces’ safety,” the statement added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Arabic media reported that a drone attacked a vehicle in Baghdad, killing at least one person.

According to Al Arabiya, one security source said the strike killed a Kataib Hezbollah commander.

Another source stated, “A drone fired three rockets at a 4X4 car in east Baghdad”.

The source added that the vehicle belonged to an official from Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of mainly pro-Iran paramilitaries now integrated into Iraq’s regular security forces.

A different source said three people were killed and that the vehicle targeted was used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a state security agency comprised of dozens of armed groups, many of them close to Iran.

US official confirmed to Voice of America reporter Carla Babb that the US was involved in an airstrike in Baghdad that hit a high-value individual target.

The US has been targeting Iranian-backed militant groups in the region after three US army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen were injured in a drone attack on a US outpost last month in Jordan near the border with Syria.