Airwars assessment
On the 25th of December, 2023, a declared U.S. airstrike was conducted against the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Hilla, central Iraq, reportedly injuring two female civilians: Shadhadan Karim Mirza, and Wasnah Maher Kahem. One member of the PMF was also killed and up to 19 other members of the PMF and other militant groups were injured.
On the 25th of December, the White House released a statement revealing that President Biden had “directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities”.
On December 26th, US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted an acknowledgement on X / Twitter that “in response to multiple attacks against Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, U.S. military forces launched airstrikes on multiple facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and its affiliated groups in Iraq at around 8:45 PM (EST) on December 25th”.
During the course of the day on December 26th, Al-Jazeera stated that the US strikes had “killed one member of the Iraqi security forces and wounded 18 people, including civilians”, whilst ‘The New Arab’ reported that “at least one person was killed and 20 wounded in a U.S. strike that targeted a site belonging to the Iran-backed PMF (Hashed al-Shaabi) forces in the central city of Hilla”.
Several local news organizations also reported on the airstrike. Altaakhi News reported that “the number of wounded among the Hashd reached 8 members, in addition to killing one of them, 8 wounded from the Academy Police, two wounded from the rescue service and one wounded from the Civil Defense, in addition to the wounding of two civilians”. An identical statement on the bombing was made by ‘Observer Iraq’ and also by Rudaw News, which additionally posted a video showing the site of the bombing. On the 26th of December, ‘Jabla al Habiba’ posted several images of the wounded being treated at a local hospital.
One independent journalist, Yasser Al Shommari, posted a list of names of those harmed as a result of the airstrike, including members of the police, the Hashd and civilians. The two civilians injured were described as two “housewives”: Shadhadan Karim Mirza and Wasnah Maher Kahem, born in Babel in 1972 and in 1971 respectively. On December 26th, the news website ‘Jabla Al Khair’ also posted an image showing a Babylon Health Department document (Ministry of Health). This document contained the names of those who had been wounded in the airstrike (including Shadhadan Karim Mirza and Wasnah Maher Kahem), in addition to the name of the one individual known to have been killed.
The PMF’s information directorate, in a Facebook post dated the 26th of December, identified the man killed as a member of the ‘45th Brigade’: Derih Ali Hassan Al-Amiri, and confirmed that his funeral had taken place.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied that any harm to civilians had occurred as a result of the airstrike, stating “there are no indications that any civilian lives were affected”.
The incident occured at approximately 8:45 pm local time.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (14) [ collapse]
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Source: Altaakhi news
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Source: Ziad al Shimari
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Source: Abdullah Al Shammari
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Source: Jabla al Habiba -
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Source: Jabla al Habiba -
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Source: Jabla al Habiba -
Source: Jabla al Habiba
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Source: Jabla al Habiba
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Source: Jabla al Habiba
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Source: PMF media
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Source: PMF media
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Source: Yasser Al Shommari
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Source: Jabla Al Khair
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US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
U.S. CENTCOM conducts strikes against Kataib Hezbollah terrorist group targets in Iraq
In response to multiple attacks against coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, U.S. military forces conducted airstrikes against multiple facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq at 8:45 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 25.
Earlier in the day, Iranian sponsored Kataib Hezbollah terrorists and affiliated groups attacked coalition forces at Erbil, Iraq resulting in several injuries.
Early assessments indicate that these U.S. airstrikes destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants. There are no indications that any civilian lives were affected. The U.S. military will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of these strikes.
"These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces," said General Michael Erik Kurilla, U.S. Central Command Commander.