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Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. military on Thursday conducted a rare drone strike in Baghdad that killed the leader of an Iranian proxy group, attracting a prompt condemnation from Iraq. The strike, which was conducted at noon local time, killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, who was also known as Abu Taqwa, the leader of U.S. designated Harakat-al-Nujaba, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed to reporters during a press conference.
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"This individual was actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel, and as we've long said, we maintain the inherent right of self-defense and we'll take necessary action to protect our personnel," he said, adding that a second militant was also killed in the strike.
Harakat-al-Nujaba is an Iran-backed Iraqi militia that was founded in 2013 and had close ties to Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the United States four years ago Wednesday.
It is also one of dozens of members of the Popular Mobilization Force, an Iraq state-sponsored umbrella security group.
The PMF confirmed the strike, calling it a "criminal act" and a "deliberate and dangerous escalation."
Harakat-al-Nujaba and Katai'ib Hezbollah, another U.S.-designated Iranian proxy, have been behind the majority of recent attacks targeting coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, and the United States has responded with retaliatory airstrikes, including on Dec. 25 over Kataib Hezbollah terrorists hitting a U.S. base in Erbil, injuring three U.S. personnel.
The United States is in Iraq at the invitation of Baghdad to support the coalition mission to defeat the Islamic State, but the airstrikes in Iraq are straining relations between the two allies, with the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani issuing condemnations following the American responses.
His office issued a statement Thursday describing the drone strike as "no different from terrorist activities" and a "blatant aggression and violation of Iraqi's sovereignty and security."
Asked about the effects of the retaliatory strikes in Iraq on the U.S.-Iraq relationship, Ryder repeatedly said that they are in the Middle Eastern country at the invitation of Iraq and that they maintain the right to self- defense.
"It is important to note that the strike was taken in self-defense, that no civilians were harmed and that no infrastructure or facilities were struck," he said.
The strike comes amid growing regional escalation due to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is on his way to the Middle East to try to prevent a widening conflict.
