The U.S. military conducted an airstrike in Iraq on Thursday, killing a leader within an Iraqi militia faction the U.S. military assessed was plotting to attack U.S. forces in the country.
On Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder announced a U.S. airstrike killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, also known as Abu Taqwa, a leader within Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HAN).
HAN has been affiliated in the past with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization overseeing several different militia factions. The PMF was initially formed in 2014 to oversee the various Iraqi factions battling the internationally designated terrorist group known as ISIS, though some PMF factions have clashed with U.S. forces in Iraq over the years.
“Abu Taqwa was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel,” Brig. Gen. Ryder said. “The strike also killed another HAN member. It is important to note that the strike was taken in self-defense, that no civilians were harmed, and that no infrastructure or facilities were struck.”
Brig. Gen. Ryder repeatedly declined to provide details about the exact nature of the threat the U.S. military assessed Mr. Abu Taqwa posed to U.S. forces in the region.
The Pentagon spokesman described HAN as an Iranian proxy group. The U.S. military has assessed Iraqi factions backed by Iran have been responsible for dozens of drone and missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. These attacks targeting U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria came just days after members of Hamas—a U.S. and Israeli designated terrorist group—breached the Israel–Gaza barrier on Oct. 7, and proceeded to kill and kidnap hundreds of people across southern Israel. The Israeli side has responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack by launching airstrikes and ground combat operations throughout the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. State Department classified HAN as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in 2019, during President Donald Trump’s administration. A March 5, 2019, State Department press release states that HAN had close ties with Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike ordered by President Trump on Jan. 3, 2020, while traveling with another PMF leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Mr. Abu Taqwa’s death comes just one day after the fourth anniversary of the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani.
Iraqi Officials Condemn US Strike
Thursday’s strike prompted condemnation within the Iraqi government and the PMF.
Yehia Rasool, a spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, condemned the strike as a “blatant violation” of the country’s sovereignty akin to terrorism. Mr. Rasool said the strike was unprovoked and “undermines all understandings between the Iraqi Armed Forces and the International Coalition Forces,” referring to the U.S.-led multinational mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria, known as “Operation Inherent Resolve.”
Mr. Rasool’s statement was relayed through the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office.
In a statement on its official website, the PMF said its factions are ready to respond to any order “that preserves the sovereignty of Iraq, the unity of its lands, and the safety of its people.”
When asked if the U.S. military had notified the Iraqi government prior to the strike, Brig. Gen. Ryder said the Iraqi government is “an important and valued partner,” that U.S. forces remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, and that “we will continue to consult closely with the Iraqi government about the safety and security of U.S. forces.” He declined to say directly that the U.S. side cleared the Thursday strike with the Iraqi government.
During the Thursday Pentagon press conference, Brig. Gen. Ryder declined to comment on the condemnations of the U.S. strike from within the Iraqi government.