US airstrikes target Iran-backed militia in Iraq after attacks on American troops

US forces carried out airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq after the group had attacked an air base where American troops were stationed. The three targets included the headquarters of Kataib Hebollah, a training facility, and storage space for missiles and drones, Bloomberg reported. 

In an official statement, the US Central Command on Tuesday said the facilities are also used by other militant outfits. “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. 

The operation occurred as the United States and UK launched a second round of joint military strikes on Yemen's Huthis on Tuesday over their attacks on Red Sea shipping, as the Iran-backed rebels vowed to hit back.

The latest raids, heard by residents of the rebel-held capital Sanaa around midnight (2100 GMT), hit eight Huthi targets, a joint US-UK statement said, while the Huthis listed 18 strikes across their territory.

US and British forces carried out a first wave of strikes against the rebel group earlier this month, and the United States launched further air raids against missiles that Washington said posed imminent threats to both civilian and military vessels.

But the Huthis have continued their attacks on shipping -- just one part of a growing crisis in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, which has raised fears of a broader war directly involving Iran, as per AFP reports. 

The latest US-UK strikes were against "eight Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the Huthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea", they said in a joint statement with other countries that supported the military action.

"These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Huthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners," the statement said.

The US Central Command said in a separate statement that the targets of the strikes "included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities".

The Yemeni rebels began striking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Hamas-Israel war.

The Huthis have since declared US and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

(With inputs from agencies)