U.S. fires shot across Iran's bow with Iraq, Syria strikes

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times - Sunday, December 29, 2019

The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed it conducted precision strikes against five Kata’ib Hizbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria in response to repeated attacks on Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops.

The announcement comes on the heels of a Friday attack on Kirkuk Air Base in northern Iraq that wounded four U.S. troops and several members of the Iraqi security forces, and killed one American contractor.

The attack was believed to be carried out by the jihadist militia organization which has long received lethal aid from Iran’s Quds Force.

In a statement released Sunday, chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the strikes “will degrade [Hizbollah’s] ability to conduct future attacks” against the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition.

The strikes targeted weapon storage facilities as well as headquarters locations that the group uses to execute attacks on the operation’s coalition forces, Mr. Hoffman said.

He explained that while the U.S. and coalition partners “fully respect Iraqi sovereignty, and support a strong and independent Iraq,” the U.S. “will not be deterred from exercising its right of self-defense.”

• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.