Tehran, July 20:
The United States has launched a fresh wave of airstrikes on Iran-linked targets after a US service member was killed in Iraq, escalating tensions in the region.
According to United States Central Command, the strikes mark the ninth consecutive night of operations aimed at weakening Iran’s military capabilities linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
A US soldier was killed on July 18 during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq. Another service member sustained minor injuries and is undergoing treatment.
The latest casualty takes the total number of US personnel killed in the nearly five-month conflict to 17.
CENTCOM said the airstrikes are part of an ongoing campaign to curb threats to commercial vessels and civilian mariners in one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes.