Iraqi Shadowy Group Claims Responsibility For Deadly Attack On U.S. Forces From 2017

Illustrative image. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)

A shadowy Iraqi group claimed responsibility on May 19 for a deadly attack on United States forces that took place more than five years ago.

The group, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – ‘Ashab al-Kahf, said in a statement that it was behind a roadside bomb attack that targeted an armored vehicle of the U.S. Army in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh on 1 October 2017, at the height of the war against ISIS in the country and neighboring Syria.

A soldier from the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, 20-years-old Alexander W. Missildine from Texas, died of wounds he sustained from the attack. In addition to Missildine, an unidentified service member was wounded.

“For the first time, we claim responsibility for this operation, as the enemy previously thought that the terrorist group [ISIS], which was made by their own hands, was responsible for the attack,” ‘Ashab al-Kahf said in its statement.

‘Ashab al-Kahf is one of several pro-Iran groups in Iraq that came to the spotlight after the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Deputy-Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, and Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani, by the U.S. in 2020.

The Pentagon is yet to comment on ‘Ashab al-Kahf’s statement. In the past, the U.S. launched strikes against Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria in response to deadly attacks on its forces in the two countries.

Today, the U.S. maintains some 2,500 troops in Iraq under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Most of these troops are deployed in military installations in Baghdad and in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region. ‘Ashab al-Kahf and other pro-Iran groups in the country want to end this presence.

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