Houthi drone expert among those killed in U.S. strike in Iraq
The Yemeni man’s death near Baghdad illustrates how Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East have forged extensive relationships with one another.
By Alex Horton and Mustafa Salim
August 5, 2024 at 5:10 p.m. EDT
A Yemeni drone specialist who had traveled to Iraq to train other Iranian-backed fighters was among those killed in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad last week, American and Iraqi defense officials said, illustrating the extensive cooperation among militant groups supported by Tehran.
The July 30 airstrike in Musayib, a town south of Iraq’s capital, targeted militants preparing to launch an attack on U.S. forces, officials have said. The strike killed Hussein Abdullah Mastoor al-Shabal, a Houthi commander, though the Pentagon was unaware of who he was until after an assessment of the operation’s results, said the U.S. official, who like others in this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the airstrike.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/08/05/us-strike-iraq-houthi-drone/
