Houthi drone expert among those killed in U.S. strike in Iraq

The strike, the first such American operation in Iraq in months, is part of a broader cycle of violence that has gripped the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October. The incident followed attacks on American positions in Iraq and Syria in recent days, officials have said, ending what had been months of relative calm between U.S. troops and the militias there.

Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and a cluster of militias in Iraq and Syria all receive weapons and training from Iran, part of a vast anti-Israel, anti-U.S. network Tehran has supported for years.

The disclosure of al-Shabal’s death comes as U.S. and Israeli officials brace for Iran’s avowed response to the killing last week of a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, outside Beirut. The Pentagon is repositioning assets and moving additional forces into the Middle East and Europe to defend against an anticipated attack on Israel.

Four Kataib Hezbollah militia members also were killed in last week’s airstrike, according to the group, one in a constellation of Iran-backed outfits overseen by the Iraqi government.

A spokesman for the militia disputed the U.S. and Iraqi governments’ assertion that those killed were preparing to attack American positions. Rather, the dead fighters were conducting “technical experiments” on reconnaissance drones and were responsible for protecting religious pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Karbala, the spokesman said.

An Iraqi military official acknowledged that Kataib Hezbollah was assigned to help protect pilgrims but said their responsibilities did not involve working with the Houthi commander.

The Houthis have emerged as a security threat in the region, attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea and harassing U.S. forces deployed to help protect them. In response, the Biden administration has directed numerous strikes on the group’s facilities in Yemen, including missile and drone launch sites.

Last week’s airstrike occurred as U.S. and Iraqi officials negotiate a possible withdrawal of at least some of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq. An additional 900 troops are based in Syria, with a mission to counter the Islamic State, and are reliant on personnel in Iraq for logistical help.

Iraqi officials slammed the United States after the strike, saying it was inconsistent with the two countries’ shared mission to fight the Islamic State and describing the dead Kataib Hezbollah fighters as part of its own security forces.

“Such serious and uncalculated transgressions could significantly undermine all efforts … to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Iraq’s military spokesman, Yahya Rasool Abdullah, said in a statement. “Moreover, they could drag Iraq and the entire region into conflicts, wars, and serious repercussions.”

Salim reported from Barcelona. Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report.