A deadly American drone strike Thursday in Baghdad was the first known targeted killing of an Iranian-backed militia leader by the Biden administration, marking a more aggressive bid to stop ongoing attacks on its forces there, U.S. officials said.  

The strike that killed Moshtaq Talib Al-Saadi and one associate as they were traveling in a vehicle in eastern Baghdad was different from previous strikes in Iraq during the Biden administration, which sought to combat regional threats while minimizing the risk of escalation between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. officials and observers said.