Islamic resistance vows retaliation after US airstrike killed 5 Iraqi militants

• The US conducted a "self-defense strike" against a target in Iraq on Sunday afternoon.
• Reuters reported five militants were killed as they prepared to launch explosives at US forces.

Five Iraqi militants were killed Sunday in an airstrike as they prepared to launch explosives toward American forces, according to multiple reports.

US officials confirmed they'd carried out a "self-defense strike on an imminent threat" on Sunday afternoon, per Reuters. The outlet reported the Islamic Resistance, a conglomerate of militia groups with ties to Tehran, vowed retaliation for the deaths.

Representatives from the US Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

"A self-defense strike was carried out on a drone staging site," a US military official told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, saying the strike took place "in the vicinity of Kirkuk" and targeted "an imminent threat."

Additional details of the strike and the plotted attack it was said to have prevented remain unclear.

Reuters reported armed Iraqi militants have taken responsibility for more than 70 attacks against American forces since October 17 in response to US support of Israel's war with Hamas.