American forces deployed in those two countries have been attacked more than 55 times since mid-October, according to the Pentagon, coinciding with US ally Israel's war on Hamas militants in Gaza.
In a statement released late Saturday on Telegram, Kataeb Hezbollah spokesman Abu Ali al-Askari said attacks by "the Islamic resistance in Iraq" were part of a "strategy of attrition", dismissing sanctions as ineffectual.
"The inclusion of certain brothers in the so-called 'American sanctions list' is ridiculous," Askari argued, saying "such actions will not dissuade our courageous fighters".
The US Treasury said on Friday it had sanctioned six individuals affiliated with Kataeb Hezbollah as well as the leader of another pro-Iranian group in Iraq which Washington said was also involved in attacks against US troops.
In its statement, the Treasury said Kataeb Hezbollah was trained, funded and supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and "is behind a spate of recent attacks against the United States and partners in Iraq and Syria following the horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel".
Attacks on southern Israel launched on October 7 by the Iran-backed Palestinian group killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
A relentless air, land and naval assault Israel launched in response has killed upwards of 12,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas government.
Attacks on US forces in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war have caused minor injuries to dozens of troops, according to the Pentagon.
Most were rocket or drone attacks claimed by a group called "the Islamic resistance in Iraq".
"The calculated strikes of the Islamic resistance in Iraq... are part of a strategy of attrition of the enemy, deciding the level of escalation of operations, trajectory and timing," said the Kataeb Hezbollah spokesman.
The group was designated a "terrorist organisation" by the US State Department in 2009.
The United States has about 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and another 900 in Syria, deployed as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.
US sanctions seven in Iraq over attacks on its troops
Washington (AFP) Nov 17, 2023 -
The United States unveiled sanctions Friday against seven people it said were affiliated with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq responsible for recent attacks on US military bases in the region.
American forces deployed in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 55 times since mid-October, causing minor injuries to dozens of US troops, according to the Pentagon.
The surge in attacks on US troops is linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, which began with a shock cross-border attack by the Palestinian militant group from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.
In response to the attack, and the capture of around 240 hostages, Israel launched a relentless air, land and naval assault on Gaza, killing about 11,500 people, according to Hamas, which has ruled the Palestinian territory since 2007.
The US Treasury said in a statement it has sanctioned six individuals affiliated with the Iran-aligned Iraqi militia group Ketaeb Hezbollah, and the leader of another Iraq-based group it said was also involved in attacks against US troops in the region.
The Treasury announcement sends a message to Ketaeb Hezbollah and "other Iran-backed groups that the United States will use all available measures to hold to account any opportunistic actors who seek to exploit the situation in Gaza for their own ends," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement,
"We remain fully committed to security and stability in the Middle East and are steadfast in our efforts to disrupt these destabilizing activities," he added.
In its statement, the Treasury said Ketaeb Hezbollah was trained, funded, and supported by a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Another Iraqi militia involved in attacks against US troops, Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, had also received support from the IRGC, the Treasury said.
There are around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.
The jihadists once held significant territory in both countries but were pushed back by local ground forces supported by international air strikes in a bloody, multi-year conflict.
Two pro-Iran fighters killed in Israeli Syria strikes: monitor
Beirut (AFP) Nov 17, 2023 -
Israeli air strikes killed two pro-Iranian fighters near the Syrian capital Damascus early on Friday during raids targeting a Hezbollah arms depot and other sites near Syria's capital, a war monitor said.
Israel has hit targets in Syria several times in the past weeks as regional tensions rise over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Citing a military source, Syria's state news agency SANA earlier reported "material damage" from the strikes.
"At around 2:25 am (2325 GMT Thursday), the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several positions in the vicinity of Damascus," SANA said.
The military source did not provide details on the targets but added that Syria's air defence intercepted some of the Israeli missiles.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, said "two foreign fighters" from pro-Iran groups were killed.
Several others were wounded, it added.
The strikes "destroyed an arms depot belonging to Hezbollah", the Iran-backed Lebanese group fighting alongside Syria's regime, the Observatory said, adding the bombardment occurred along the road to Damascus airport.
The Observatory said that "sites linked to Hezbollah and pro-Iran militias" near the airport were also targeted.
Syria's foreign ministry in a statement warned Israel "against going to far with its attacks on Syrian territory".
Israeli strikes last month put Syria's two main airports in Damascus and Aleppo out of service several times over two weeks, and the Damascus terminal remains out of operation.
On November 8, Israeli air strikes killed three pro-Iran fighters as they hit sites belonging to Hezbollah near Damascus, the Observatory reported at the time.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, when the Iran-backed fighters stormed out of the Gaza Strip, Hamas ally Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions have exchanged fire with Israeli forces across Lebanon's southern border.
During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.
While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out in Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to extend its footprint there.
The Syrian war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests, escalating into a conflict involving foreign powers and global jihadist groups.
More than half a million people have been killed, and around half of Syria's pre-war population forced from their homes.
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