Three Iran-backed Fighters Killed in Baghdad Drone Strike

This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
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Three Iran-backed Fighters Killed in Baghdad Drone Strike

This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This aerial photograph taken on January 1, 2024 shows a view of Baghdad's Tahrir Square, where the city's main boulevards on the eastern bank of the Tigris river converge at a roundabout. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)

At least three fighters were killed and six others wounded in a drone strike on an Iran-backed militia headquarters in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, police and security sources told Reuters.

Police sources and eyewitnesses said at least two rockets struck a building used by al-Nujaba'a.

A group spokesman said three of the group's fighters were killed, including a local commander in al-Nujaba'a. The spokesman accused the United States of carrying out the attack.

Iraqi police and security sources said they had no further detail on who might have carried out the strike pending a government investigation.

Last month, the United States carried out retaliatory air strikes in Iraq after a drone attack by Iran-aligned militants that left one US service member in critical condition and wounded two others.

The US military has already come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.



Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Lebanon's Speaker Sets Jan. 9 Date to Elect President

FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri set a Jan. 9 date for lawmakers to elect the country's president, the state news agency (NNA) reported on Thursday.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle.

Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon had prompted a renewed bid by some leading Lebanese politicians to fill the two-year-long presidential vacuum.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, allowing people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting.

Berri has said that, once there's a ceasefire, he supported the election of a president who doesn't represent "a challenge" to anyone.

The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon's 128-seat parliament. No single political alliance has enough seats to impose its choice, meaning an understanding among rival blocs is needed to secure the election of a candidate.