Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, conducts a news briefing at the Pentagon on Dec. 21, 2023. (Cesar J. Navarro/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON – A U.S. airstrike on Thursday that targeted an Iran-backed militia in Baghdad killed one of the group’s high-ranking commanders, a Pentagon official said.
“U.S. forces took necessary and proportionate action against Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, a.k.a Abu Taqwa, who was a Harakat al-Nujaba leader,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. “The strike was taken in self-defense, no civilians were harmed and no infrastructure or facilities were struck.”
An associate of Abu Taqwa’s was also killed in the strike, Ryder said. But the general would not provide further information about the strike or why the group was targeted now.
The Harakat al-Nujaba group was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019.
“This particular individual was actively involved in carrying out attacks against American personnel. As we’ve long said … we will take necessary action to protect our personnel,” Ryder said.
Thursday’s strike comes as tensions in the Middle East increase amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as regular attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria. Iranian-backed militant groups have carried out more than 100 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
This is the second time in more than a week that the U.S. has targeted Iranian proxy groups inside Iraq. On Dec. 25, U.S. forces struck three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq after the group attacked Erbil Air Base and wounded three U.S. service members, leaving one in critical condition.
The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have also carried out 25 attacks against commercial ships in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands U.S. Navy operations in the Middle East, told reporters on Thursday.
To safeguard key commercial shipping routes for international trade, the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational security pact to increase patrols and bolster defenses in the area.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
