Iraq Condemns U.S. Airstrikes Against Kataib Hezbollah

After the U.S. launched a series of airstrikes inside Iraq and Syria on an Iranian-backed militia, the Iraqi government has condemned the strikes as an attack on its sovereignty and said it would summon the U.S. ambassador. The U.S. launched the attack following a rocket strike Friday, attributed to the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, that killed a U.S. military contractor working with Iraqi and U.S. forces.

The KH militia, which is calling for retaliation, says that at least 25 of its fighters were killed in the strikes and dozens more injured.

"We stress that Iraq is an independent country, and its internal security takes priority, and serious attention, and will not be allowed to become a battlefield, or a route for launching attacks," Iraq's Foreign Ministry said in a statement about what it planned to tell the U.S. ambassador.

It added that Iraq planned to discuss the future presence in Iraq of the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS.