'America, get out of our land': Anger rises on streets of Baghdad after US drone attack against fighters
The drone strike killed three members of the powerful Kata'ib Hezbollah armed gangs including a high-ranking commander, according to US officials.
Thursday 8 February 2024 21:44, UK
Crowds gathered at the entrance of the Baghdad Green Zone - home to several diplomatic compounds including the American and British embassies - hours after a US drone attack which killed a senior commander of one of Iraq's most powerful pro-Iran armed groups.聽
"Death to America" and "America, get out of our land" the crowds shouted, as dozens and dozens of heavily protected riot police barricaded their route.
The US admitted it carried out a "unilateral" attack late on Wednesday night, which blew up a car in a busy civilian street in the east of the capital.
Witnesses told Sky News at the scene that two bodies were recovered, including that of a commander in the powerful Kata'ib Hezbollah group, named as Wissam Mohammed "Abu Bakr" al Saadi.
The US authorities said in a statement that the commander was responsible for "directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region".
The statement from US Central Command said there was no "collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time".
Kata'ib Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist outfit by the American authorities, which they say is funded and supported by Iran and receives help and training from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US attack immediately prompted angry demands for retaliation by other affiliated pro-Iran fighting groups, which form the so-called Axis of Resistance in Iraq.
Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba denounced the attack and demanded action, warning: "This will not be the last (attack) if there is no strict and firm official response from the Iraqi government."
And the Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades also vowed revenge.
The attack is inflaming an already extremely tense region.
An angry gathering immediately surrounded the burning vehicle soon after the strike, chanting anti-American slogans.
When we arrived at the scene, we were repeatedly warned by police that they could not guarantee our safety and emotions were running high.
Witnesses we spoke to told us there was a lot of anger about what they view as the blatant disregard by the Americans for civilian life.
There is also much resentment about the continuing presence of American troops, which the US government insists are required to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State in the country.
"America needs to be investigated for breaching international law," one man told us.
"How are they able to attack another country and kill people with immunity?"
He then warned us we needed to leave the area after telling us parts of the crowd wanted to attack us and our vehicle.
"There is a lot of anger," he said.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Read more from Sky News:
Eyewitness: Inside a network of tunnels in Gaza
British-owned cargo vessel attacked by Houthis
The strike follows an earlier US military attack just days ago on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by armed groups backed by Iran and the IRGC.
The US government said these attacks are in retaliation for a drone strike blamed on Kata'ib Hezbollah which killed three US soldiers at a base in Jordan.
Alex Crawford is reporting from Baghdad with cameraman Jake Britton and specialist producer Chris Cunningham.