Iraq vows ‘legal, diplomatic measures’ after US-led coalition airstrike

Iraq vowed, Wednesday, to take legal and diplomatic measures following a US-led coalition air strike on a security site in the central Babil province, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, military spokesman, Yehia Rasool, called the coalition air strike a “heinous crime” and a “blatant aggression”.

Casualties were reported in the attack that targeted a security site of the pro-government Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) in the province.

The attack occurred “despite extensive efforts through political and diplomatic channels and the higher military commission, which have reached advanced stages to end the presence and operations of the Global Coalition Against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq,” Rasool said.

The spokesman warned that the attack “could significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat Daesh/ISIS in Iraq and Syria.”

“Iraq will take the appropriate legal and diplomatic measures to protect its rights, ensure its security and sovereignty and safeguard its territory,” he said, without elaborating.

On Tuesday, a US defence official told Anadolu that the United States conducted a “defensive airstrike” against “combatants” in Babil.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the defence official said US forces conducted the strike in Musayyib in Babil province to target “combatants attempting to launch one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWAUAS)”.

Tensions have escalated in the Middle East when Israel launched a devastating onslaught against the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on 7 October, with US bases in Iraq and Syria coming under attack by Iran-backed groups while attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on commercial ships in the Red Sea continue.

READ: US air strike in Iraq as regional tensions worsen