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A US drone strike in Baghdad has killed a high-ranking militia commander.
Officials in the area said that the drone hit a car in the Iraqi capital Wednesday night, which was being used by three members of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, an influential group. One of the men in the car was a high-ranking commander, according to the Associated Press.
The incident was a targeted US attack, two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the outlet, confirming that one of the three men killed was the commander in charge of the group’s operations in Syria, Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi.
The attack happened in the Mashtal neighbourhood in the eastern part of the city. According to the outlet, a crowd formed in the area as emergency officials tried to aid those affected. As a precaution, officials shut off the city’s Green Zone, which is home to diplomatic compounds. Protestors had been calling on eachother to storm the US embassy.
Conflict in the area had been heightened.
Earlier this week, the US military launched an air assault against dozens of Iraq and Syria sites which are used for Iranian-backed militia operations and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the AP said.
The attack was initiated in response to another drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan last month.
This is a developing story…
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