Red Sea attacks raise tensions as US kills 5 in Iraq

The U.S Navy destroyer USS Carney sets sail in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019. [Reuters]

U.S forces killed five Iran-backed militants as they prepared to launch a drone attack in Iraq, as the number of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria rose to 76 since mid-October.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday that U.S. forces saw the militants Sunday as they were beginning to launch an attack drone and fired a precision munition from a U.S. drone to take them out.