BREAKING: Iraqi militia official killed in airport strike amid U.S. threats to Iran
A senior Iraqi militia official has been killed in a yet unclaimed attack near Baghdad International Airport in what appeared to be the latest escalation following a week of unrest and bloodshed across the country.
Mohammed Redha al-Jabri, head of protocol of Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces, was killed Thursday"along with three guests accompanying him," the Popular Mobilization Forces told. The group denied rumors that Popular Mobilization Forces deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed or injured, saying he was"well and currently in his residence in Baghdad.
Earlier Thursday, the Iraqi military's Security Media Cell reported that"three Katyusha rockets fell on Baghdad International Airport, near the air cargo terminal, destroying two vehicles and wounding a number of civilians."A photo shared by Iraq's Security Media Cell shows the wreckage of car apparently struck by rocket near Baghdad International Airport, January 2.
The U.S. and Iran both supported Iraq in the battle against the Islamic State militant group , but relations between the longstanding rivals have again fallen out as the jihadis were defeated and President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and major world powers. The White House has since the 2018 exit imposed increasingly strict sanctions on the Islamic Republic, accusing it of funding militant groups and pursuing destabilizing missile development.
The so-called"maximum pressure" strategy, however, has also seen additional U.S. troops deployed to the region as Washington blamed Tehran for attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, Saudi oil facilities and bases associated with the Pentagon's presence in Iraq.
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