UPDATE - Iraq: US kills 25 militants of Iran-linked group

UPDATES WITH US, IRAN SIDE

By Aamir Hassani

BAGHDAD (AA) - The death toll from Sunday's attacks by the U.S. on positions belonging to an Iran-backed militia group in Iraq and Syria has risen to 25, according to an Iraqi source on Monday.

Jawad Kadhim Al-Rabaiwi, senior leader of Hashd al-Shaabi -- an umbrella group for various militias -- said in a statement that 25 people were killed and another 51 were injured as a result of these attacks, adding fears that the death toll could rise.

U.S. forces on Sunday struck five Iraqi Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria.

The "defensive strikes" against the Kataib Hezbollah militia group came in response to rocket attacks Friday on an Iraqi base that hosts U.S. coalition forces fighting Daesh/ISIS.

Three locations in Iraq and two in Syria were targeted, according to chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.

They included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations which were claimed to be used to plan and carry out attacks on anti-Daesh coalition forces.

The strikes will "degrade" Kataib Hezbollah's "ability to conduct future attacks" against the coalition forces, Hoffman said.

Iran and its Kataib Hezbollah "proxy forces must cease their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces and respect Iraq's sovereignty to prevent additional defensive actions by U.S. forces," Hoffman added.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters after a briefing with President Donald Trump on Sunday that the step taken by Washington in Iraq demonstrates U.S. determination to give Iran "a clear answer" if it threatens the lives of the American soldiers.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who also joined the briefing, termed the offensive "successful," adding that he informed Trump about the necessity of additional actions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry, for its part, condemned the U.S. attacks and described it as “a clear example of terror".

The ministry’s spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a Monday statement: “The U.S. should respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and stop interfering in its internal affairs,”

He went on to say that “these attacks have once again proved the falsehood of the U.S. claims to fight Daesh/ISIS group, as the U.S. has targeted positions of forces that have been fighting Daesh/ISIS terrorists over the past years.”

On Friday, one U.S. civilian contractor was killed and several U.S. service members and Iraqi personnel were injured in an attack took place in Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk.

*Beyza Binnur Donmez from Ankara contributed to the story