U.S. forces carried out a "defensive" air strike on combatants who were attempting to launch drones that were deemed a threat to American and allied troops, a U.S. official said. "Tonight, U.S. forces in Iraq conducted a defensive air strike" in Babylon province "targeting combatants attempting to launch one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems", the U.S. defence official said on condition of anonymity. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed the majority of the attacks, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The U.S. military has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria. The coalition was deployed to Iraq at the government's request in 2014 to help combat the Islamic State group, which had taken over vast swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

Source: The Hindu July 31, 2024 17:58 UTC