Sky News’ Alex Crawford reports from the scene and says there is “great tension” and a “great deal of anger towards America” following the strike.
A US drone strike in Baghdad has killed three members of the powerful Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, according to US officials.
The drone strike hit a car in the Iraqi capital – and was in response to a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan towards the end of January.
Sky News’ Alex Crawford arrived at the scene shortly after the blast and said there was “great tension” and a “great deal of anger towards America”.
“There has been a furious response about the killing,” she said.
“The locals round here are demanding an investigation by the Iraqi government, demanding that there is revenge.
“There is a great deal of anger, a great deal of tension here.”
Crowds gathered as emergency response teams picked through the wreckage.
The US has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan on its forces, and officials have said they suspect Kata’ib Hezbollah, in particular, of leading it.
The strike on Wednesday night hit a main road in the Mashtal neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad.
A US official said that a senior Kata’ib Hezbollah commander was targeted in the strike.
Two officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq said that one of the three killed was Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al Saadi, the commander in charge of Kata’ib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.