US President Donald Trump has decided to abandon an aggressive response to a recent attack of pro-Iran groups targeting US personnel in Iraq since Iran is struggling to contain the COVID-19 outbreak ravaging the country, NBC News reported on Friday, citing senior US officials
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2020) US President Donald Trump has decided to abandon an aggressive response to a recent attack of pro-Iran groups targeting US personnel in Iraq since Iran is struggling to contain the COVID-19 outbreak ravaging the country, NBC news reported on Friday, citing senior US officials.
On March 11, an attack involving dozens of rockets was conducted against Camp Taji, an Iraqi base north of Baghdad where US and coalition troops are based. Three coalition personnel, including two US citizens and one UK national, died as a result, while 14 others sustained injuries. Washington accused pro-Iran Shia Muslim groups, in particular Kataib Hezbollah, of perpetrating the attack.
In a retaliatory move the next day, the US forces conducted precision strikes against the Kataib Hezbollah militant group, hitting five weapon storage facilities and the Karbala airport in central Iraq not far from Baghdad.
After his advisers briefed him on possible further steps, Trump reportedly said that hitting back hard at Iran now will spoil the reputation of the US troops given the extent of the pandemic spread in the world, and especially in Iran, which is the third country in the world most affected by the disease after China and Italy.
On March 14, Camp Taji was attacked for the second time. Three US and two Iraqi servicemen were injured.
