Iraq: US-led Coalition ‘Has Become a Factor for Instability’

Iraqi federal police gather at the site of a burned vehicle targeted by a US drone strike in east Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi federal police gather at the site of a burned vehicle targeted by a US drone strike in east Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Iraq: US-led Coalition ‘Has Become a Factor for Instability’

Iraqi federal police gather at the site of a burned vehicle targeted by a US drone strike in east Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi federal police gather at the site of a burned vehicle targeted by a US drone strike in east Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Repeated US strikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq are pushing the government to end the mission of the US-led coalition in the country, the prime minister's military spokesman Yahya Rasool said on Thursday.
The US military said a strike on Wednesday killed a commander from Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq that the Pentagon has blamed for attacking its troops.
Rasool said in a statement that the US-led coalition "has become a factor for instability and threatens to entangle Iraq in the cycle of conflict."
The US-led international military coalition in Iraq was set up to fight ISIS. The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of the group.
Since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October, Iraq and Syria have witnessed almost daily tit-for-tat attacks between Iran-backed armed groups and US forces stationed in the region.



Israel Strikes Beirut's Southern Suburbs once Again

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
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Israel Strikes Beirut's Southern Suburbs once Again

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs again on Friday after evacuation warnings were issued to residents prior to the attacks by an Israeli spokesman.
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders to residents in the areas of al-Hadath and Haret Hreik, as well as several villages in Lebanon’s south requesting they move to north of Awwali River.
When it issues such a warning, Israel cites alleged presence of Hezbollah fighters or infrastructure in civilian areas as a justification for its airstrikes.
Avichay Adraee, spokesperson for the Israeli army, issued an evacuation warning to the residents of the towns of Tayba, Aadchit, Qusayr, and Deir Seryan, as well as to the residents of the towns of Burj al-Shamali and Maashuq in southern Lebanon.
He also requested the evacuation of residents from specific buildings in Hadath and Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Later during the day, Lebanon’s health ministry said two medics were killed in the Israeli strikes on a southern Lebanon town.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,583 people and wounded 15,244 in Lebanon since October 2023, with 25 fatalities reported on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday.