The United States will take unilateral action when needed to deal with the threat to American troops in Iraq from Shi’ite militias armed by Iran, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Monday.
U.S. forces officially ended combat operations in Iraq last August but have come under increasing fire in recent weeks. Fourteen US service members were killed in hostile incidents in June, the highest monthly toll in three years. US officials blame Shi’ite militias armed by Iraq’s Shi’ite neighbour Iran for most of the recent attacks.
At least three U.S. service members have been killed this month, including one on Sunday, the day Panetta arrived in Baghdad on his first trip to Iraq as defence secretary. Washington still has about 46,000 troops in Iraq more than eight years after the 2003 invasion overthrew Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein but is scheduled to withdraw its forces by year-end under a security pact between the two countries.
Shiite group is going out offline by killing U S and civilian iraqs
America must try hard to sort out iran issue otherwise too much for iran inciting faction teams
Comments are closed.