US fighter jets have killed eight pro-Iran fighters in Iraq as retaliation for repeated attacks on American troops. The strikes followed a similar bombardment of Iran-backed forces on Tuesday. The Iraqi government condemned the actions, stating it had not been consulted about the military action on its soil. The US military conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq in direct response to the attacks against US and coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups. The Iran-backed Hezbollah Brigades, part of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) force within Iraq’s armed forces, said the strikes killed eight of its fighters. This was the first time the US has announced a strike on Iran-backed forces in Iraq since they launched a flurry of attacks against US targets in response to Washington’s support for Israel in its war to destroy Hamas. Since the Gaza war erupted with a deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, US forces deployed in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 66 times, most recently on Monday night.