The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense in Washington DC

By   Gary   Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

U.S. forces in Iraq conducted a “self-defense”  airstrike Thursday that killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, a leader of an Iran-backed militia group, the Pentagon said.   “It is important to note that the strike was taken in self-defense, that no civilians were harmed, and that no infrastructure or facilities were struck,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in a press briefing.  Ryder said al-Jawari was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel. Al-Jawari, along with another member of Harakat al-Nujaba, were both killed in the drone strike that took place around noon in Baghdad.   Al-Jawari was a leader of the “Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba terrorist group that is operating both in Iraq and Syria”, said the Pentagon press secretary.  

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo /©Diplomatic  Times)  Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

The U.S. currently has a military presence in Iraq as part of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.

“U.S. forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq,” Ryder said. “They’re there for one reason, which is to support the defeat-ISIS mission. We’ll continue to work very closely with our Iraqi partners when it comes to the safety and security of our forces. When those forces are threatened, just like we would anywhere else in the world, we will maintain the inherent right of self-defense to protect our forces.”