President Trump told top national security advisers that because of the coronavirus pandemic he didn’t think an aggressive response to attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias was the right move, officials say.
Saturday, the militia group mounted an even bigger attack on Camp Taji, this time attempting to fire 56 rockets at the base. Twenty-five rockets hit the base, but the 31 others never launched. Three U.S. troops were seriously wounded, along with two Iraqi service members.
So far, the U.S. military has not responded. On Tuesday, three days after the attack, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced sanctions on nine entities and three individuals"who have engaged in activity that could enable the Iranian regime's violent behavior," saying their actions"provide revenue to the regime that it may use to fund [activities], such as the recent rocket attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces located at Camp Taji.
The U.S. military is trying to persuade the Iraqi military to partner up to respond to Kataib Hezbollah inside Iraq, according to four U.S. military and defense officials."We certainly are pushing the Iraqis to go after the perpetrators," a senior defense official said. While the officials concede that Iraq is not likely to engage in kinetic strikes with the Americans against Kataib Hezbollah, they do not rule out a future response to the weekend attack at Camp Taji.
"The U.S. military is still preparing options," an official said, adding,"I don't believe a decision has been made." After the March 11 attack on Camp Taji, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that Trump had"given me the authority to do what we need to do."
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