Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces Raid Kataib Hezbollah HQ, Seize Rocket Launchers
A total of 13 Kataib Hezbollah fighters were arrested late Thursday night after Iraqi troops of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) raided a headquarters of the paramilitary group in southern Baghdad, Iraq.
Iraqi security forces also confiscated multiple rocket launchers from the Kataib Hezbollah fighters during the Thursday night raid, as reported by AFP, citing three officials.
The outlet noted that this was the first raid against individuals who have been accused of carrying out anti-US rocket attacks.
"Based on intelligence information, a CTS unit raided a base used by Brigade 45, seizing three rocket launchers and arresting 13 fighters," an unnamed official said, according to AFP.
Earlier this month, a number of Katyusha rockets assaulted Baghdad, and Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) seized a flatbed truck that had been repurposed into a Katyusha rocket launcher.
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However, the JOC did not link the seized truck to any particular group at the time.
Washington has accused Kataib Hezbollah of carrying out the late December 2019 rocket attack on the K1 military base outside of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. As many as 30 rockets were launched into the military facility, and one US civilian contractor died as a result of the attack.
US officials have also asserted that Kataib Hezbollah was behind the March 11 Katyusha rocket strike on Camp Taji, which houses forces of the US-led coalition. Two American troops and a British soldier died from the 18-rocket barrage.
- Source : Sputniknews.com
