Pentagon ‘confident’ airstrikes destroyed Iran-linked weapons facilities in Iraq

The Pentagon is confident that U.S.-led coalition airstrikes that were carried out Thursday evening in Iraq successfully destroyed five weapons facilities used by an Iranian-backed military group that launched a deadly rocket attack on coalition forces days earlier.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command who leads American operations in the Middle East, told reporters Friday morning that he is “very comfortable” with the level of damage achieved by the strikes.

“We’re confident that we have effectively destroyed these facilities and expect they will no longer be able to house the type of advanced Iranian supplied weapons” used in 12 attacks on coalition forces in the past six months, the four-star general said.

“The destruction of these sites will degrade Kata’ib Hezbollah’s ability to conduct future strikes,” he added.

The airstrikes were in direct response to a rocket attack on Camp Taji base just north of Baghdad carried out by Iran-backed militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah Wednesday evening that killed two U.S. service members and one British soldier and wounded 14 others.

The group fired a total of 30 rockets towards Camp Taji base Wednesday, and three failed to ignite. Between eight and 15 rockets landed in the base, Gen. McKenzie said, classifying the move as a “large strike” against U.S. forces that was intended to produce significant casualties.

He maintained that the U.S. acted in “self-defense” and “in response to a direct and deliberate attack” on American and coalition forces.

“We are in Iraq to support the people of Iraq in their fight against ISIS,” Gen. McKenzie said. “However, we always reserve the right to defend our forces, whenever they’re attacked or threatened.”

The airstrikes came two months after the U.S. and Iran were at the brink of all-out war following an American strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military officer near Baghdad International Airport.

The Jan. 3 strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, of which Kata’ib Hezbollah is a member.

The Trump administration said the Soleimani strike was warranted because the Iranian commander was plotting attacks against U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in the region. U.S. officials had also found that Kata’ib Hezbollah was responsible for a late December rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain “very high,” Gen. McKenzie said, adding that “even though we may go days or a period of time without anything happening, I think we’re still in a period of significant risk.”

The Trump administration has for months suggested that any Iranian, or Iran-backed militia attacks against Americans in the region would cross a red line and warrant harsh U.S. military retaliation, but Thursday night’s strikes appeared to represent a tit-for-tat between U.S. forces and the Iran-backed proxies in Iraq.

Gen. McKenzie cautioned Iran from attempting any response against U.S. or coalition forces and said Defense Secretary Mark Esper has approved a request to continue operating aircraft carrier strike groups in the region.

The USS Eisenhower and the USS Truman are positioned the region under CENTCOM, a move that Iran watches “very closely.”

The countermeasure received praise Friday from Senate Armed Services Committee Chair James Inhofe, who said in a statement the move was a “defensive, proportionate and necessary response.”

“The strike should serve as a reminder to Iran’s leadership that we have the will and the capability to find and destroy the source of any threat to our forces,” said Mr. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican. “Nobody wants war — de-escalation and negotiation remain possible, but only if Iran is willing to cease its terrorism.”