Exclusive: Two Commanders of 'Kata'ib Hezbollah' Killed in Drone Strike in Baghdad

Following three large explosions on the evening of Wednesday, February 7, in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, media reported the killing of two senior commanders of Kata'ib Hezbollah Iraq in these explosions. A reporter from the Persian section of Voice of America confirmed the death of these two senior commanders of Iranian-affiliated militant groups and reported that the incident occurred due to a drone strike on a vehicle in the Al-Mashtal area of Baghdad. Local sources told the Voice of America reporter that the names of these two commanders are Abu-Baqir al-Saadi and Arkan al-Yawwi. According to Iraqi security sources, three people were killed in this drone strike, and the targeted vehicle belonged to the Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq, of which Kata'ib Hezbollah fighters and commanders are a part. A few days prior to this attack, the U.S. military bombed dozens of bases in Iraq and Syria used by militias supported by the Islamic Republic and the Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for a drone strike that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers in Jordan. The United States holds the Islamic Resistance Group in Iraq, a broad coalition of militias supported by the Iranian government, responsible for the drone strike in Jordan. American officials specifically suspect the leadership of Kata'ib Hezbollah in this attack. Following the drone strike in Jordan, Kata'ib Hezbollah announced in a statement that it would suspend attacks on American forces to avoid creating problems for the Iraqi government. However, other Islamic resistance groups in Iraq have stated that they will continue their attacks against American forces. Following the recent war between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic resistance groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked American military bases in Iraq and Syria.