A March 23 drone strike in Syria that killed a U.S. military contractor was reportedly launched by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq.
The Biden administration has been plagued by "over-the-horizon" attacks by Iran-supported groups in Iraq after the unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed the Taliban to quickly retake the country and diminish U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
The drone attack killed a U.S. contractor, the first U.S. death in Syria under President Joe Biden, and wounded dozens of American civilian and military personnel and was launched from northern Iraq into Syria, officials told The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
"When that attack happened, we did not know the launch point," an official told the Journal. "We were able to exploit the engine of the drone, which had a serial number, which clearly tied it back to Iran."
A second contractor and 24 U.S. service members were wounded, many suffering traumatic brain injuries.
It was the fourth such attack on U.S. forces by Iran-backed militias from Iraq.
Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan was just weeks before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, which led to the second Iraq War to remove dictator Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. still has 2,500 troops in Iraq, battling remaining ISIS terrorist cells.
Officials told the Journal of growing frustration with the Biden administration's Defense Departments policies in the Middle East, specifically Iraq.
The U.S. struck eastern Syria facilities linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing eight after the drone strike.
"We're not looking to get into tit-for-tat skirmishes with these groups, which some of the groups want us to do," the senior U.S. official told the Journal. "Our policy is to hold Iran accountable for all these attacks."
Liwa al-Ghaliboun, translated as "Brigade of the Victors," posted video of the March 23 drone launch, claiming credit on the deadly strike by a Iranian Qasef-2K unmanned aerial vehicle.
U.S. officials told the Journal they believe the Iraqi group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba founded by State Department-designated terrorist Akram al-Kabbi is tied to the attack.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba representative Naser al-Shemarri told the Journal the group supported the attack but denied carrying it out.
"We feel honored at such accusations in fact, but it was not us," Al-Shemarri said.
Biden administration critics note the lack of attention to the Iran-backed attacks from Iraq can embolden the terrorists.
"The best way to restrain these groups from attacking U.S. forces from Iraqi territory is to deeply embarrass the Iraqi government about the issue," according to Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Michael Knights. "The Sudani government wants to be seen as a respectful law-abiding government."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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