US A-10s Hit Iranian Militia Bases in Iraq Strike | WATCH

This is a follow-up to the larger U.S. airstrike on the exact same base yesterday (March 24), which killed at least 15 PMF fighters, including the group’s senior Anbar operations commander.

The A-10 missions form part of the broader Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led campaign against Iran and its regional proxies that began Feb. 28. In addition to targeting militia positions in Iraq, A-10s have been deployed along the southern flank of the operation to hunt and destroy Iranian fast-attack boats and mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon has said.

U.S. officials have described the A-10’s involvement in Epic Fury as evidence that Iran’s air defenses have been sufficiently degraded to allow the low-and-slow, non-stealth aircraft to operate in contested airspace. The plane, long a workhorse for close air support, is also being used for maritime interdiction missions for which it was originally designed.

No immediate comment was available from U.S. Central Command on Tuesday’s Iraq strikes. The PMF, a network of mostly Shiite paramilitary groups formally integrated into Iraq’s security forces, has been a key Iranian proxy in the region for years.

The latest action comes amid ongoing U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s missile program, navy and proxy networks as part of Epic Fury.