US strikes hit Iraq militia blamed in contractor’s death
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press
The U.S. says it has carried out military strikes in Iraq and Syria targeting a militia blamed for an attack that killed an American contractor. Defense spokesman Jonathan Hoffman says U.S. forces conducted “precision defensive strikes” against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia. The U.S. blames the militia for a rocket barrage Friday that killed a U.S. contractor in northern Iraq. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command says American airstrikes killed four militia fighters.