Drone Strike Kills Iran-Backed Militia In Baghdad

Iraqi security forces stand guard at a street after an attack by a drone strike on an Iran-backed militia headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq January 4, 2024.
Iraqi security forces stand guard at a street after an attack by a drone strike on an Iran-backed militia headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq January 4, 2024.

At least four fighters were killed and six others injured in a drone strike targeting an Iran-backed militia headquarters in eastern Baghdad on Thursday.

Reuters received information from police and security sources, but no further details were provided regarding the party responsible for the attack.

Field sources have indicated that a high-ranking commander of the Iran-backed armed group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN), along with his assistant, was killed in the attack.

However, social media reports suggest that the targeted facility was Hashd al-Shaabi's logistics base in Baghdad and that US drones carried out the strike.

If so, it would be a rare retaliation for over 100 attacks since the Gaza war broke out in October, Iran's proxies targeting US facilities in Iraq and Syria, and now the Red Sea shipping route, in retaliation for US support of Israel's right to defend itself.

While Iran has not directly engaged in the conflict, it has utilized its network of armed groups to target both Israel and US forces in the region. Iran, a staunch supporter of Hamas, has issued threats to the United States, warning that if the attacks on Gaza persist, they may impact US interests.