The United States consulted with Baghdad before launching a wave of airstrikes in Iraq to retaliate against a deadly attack on its forces in the country, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Kenneth McKenzie told reporters on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) The United States consulted with Baghdad before launching a wave of airstrikes in Iraq to retaliate against a deadly attack on its forces in the country, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Kenneth McKenzie told reporters on Friday.
The Pentagon said in a statement earlier on Friday that it conducted defensive airstrikes targeting Kataib Hezbollah weapons storage facilities across Iraq in response to Wednesday's deadly attack against a base hosting coalition troops in the country.
On Wednesday, a militant group fired 18 Katyusha rockets at Camp Taji in Iraq, killing two Americans and one British national and wounding 12 others.
"We consulted with them [Iraq] in the wake of the attack," McKenzie said. "They knew the response was coming."
Defense Secretary Mark Esper earlier on Friday vowed that the US would continue defensive strikes if necessary.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said earlier on Friday that Foreign Minister Mohammed Hakim summoned the ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom in Baghdad over the latest US airstrikes, which left at least six people dead.
In early January, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel all foreign forces after a US strike in Baghdad killed Shia militia commander Abu Mahdi Muhandis and Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Washington alleged both targets were involved in an attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad in late December.
