Toll from US attacks in Iraq rises to 25, 51 injured

Reuters photo

Baghdad: The death toll from drone attacks of the United States against Kata`ib Hezbollah militia in Iraq has risen to 25, with 51 others left injured, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, said on Monday.

On Sunday, the US Department of Defense said it had carried out "defensive strikes" against five Kata`ib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the group`s recent attack on a US base near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that left one US soldier killed and four others injured.

''As a result of the brutal attacks on the 35th and 36th brigades, 25 people were killed and 51 others injured," the paramilitary said in a statement. Kata`ib Hezbollah, not to be confused with the Hezbollah group of Lebanon, is a paramilitary group with Shia ideology established in 2007 and operating under the Hashd al-Shaabi umbrella. Washington designates them as terrorists.