U.S. drone strike kills a leader of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq

A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed at least one leader of an Iran-backed militia on Wednesday, the Pentagon said.

In a nighttime attack Wednesday, the U.S. military "conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing a Kata'ib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region," U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

The Iraqi military command said it was investigating an attack on a civilian car that killed the passengers inside. Video verified by an Iraqi Interior Ministry official showed an SUV engulfed in flames but with the frame still intact.

The U.S. military said, "There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time."

A Telegram channel used by Iraq's militias that are now part of Iraqi government forces announced that a commander had been killed.

Kataib Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. But the group said last week it would no longer target U.S. troops, just before American warplanes hit militias sites in both Iraq and Syria.

This latest drone strike on a busy Baghdad street will likely put more political pressure on the Iraqi government which has pushed for the 2,500 U.S. troops to leave the country.

NPR's Jane Arraf and Tom Bowman contributed reporting.

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