US president Donald Trump has authorised the US military to respond to Wednesday's rocket attack by Iran-backed militia in Iraq that killed two American troops and a British service member, said the Pentagon on Thursday.
Secretary of defence Mark Esper and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen Mark Milley stopped short of blaming Iran-backed Kataib Hizbullah or naming any specific militia.
But they were clear that they believe Iran-backed fighters carried out the attack. And they warned that all options are on the table.
“I have spoken with the president. He’s given me the authority to do what we need to do, consistent with his guidance,” said Mr Esper.
Asked if a US response could include strikes inside Iran, Mr Esper hinted that a response against the militia itself is the priority.
“I’m not going to take any option off the table right now, but we are focused on the group – groups – that we believe perpetrated this in Iraq, as the immediate [focus],” he said.
Mr Trump told reporters at the White House it was not "fully determined it was Iran" and declined to say what the United States might do.
“We’ll see what the response is,” he said.
The US has repeatedly and publicly warned that killing Americans overseas constituted a red line that would trigger a US reaction.
“We gotta hold the perpetrators accountable. You don’t get to shoot at our bases and kill and wound Americans and get away with it,” said Mr Esper.
Washington blamed Kataib Hizbullah for a strike in December that killed a US contractor, leading to a cycle of tit-for-tat confrontations that culminated in January's US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and a retaliatory Iranian missile attack that left more than 100 US troops with brain injuries.
Private contractors
In the latest attack, some 14 US-led coalition personnel were wounded, including American, British, Polish and others. Private industry contractors were among the wounded. Milley said five of the wounded were categorised as “urgent”, suggesting serious injuries that could require rapid medical evacuation.
Earlier on Thursday, US marine general Kenneth McKenzie, head of the military’s central command, noted that only Iran-backed Kataib Hizbullah had been known to perpetrate such an attack in the past.
“While we are still investigating the attack, I will note that the Iranian proxy group Kataib Hizbullah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against US and coalition forces in Iraq,” Gen McKenzie told a US Senate hearing.
The US-led military coalition in Iraq says 18 107mm Katyusha rockets struck Iraq’s Taji military camp.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 30 of the rockets were fired from nearby truck and that only 18 of them landed at the Iraqi base.
In a sign of concern that tensions between the US and Iran could be headed towards open conflict, the Democratic-led US House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday to limit President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran. – Reuters