"US 82nd Airborne Pilot Wounded in Escalated Drone Strike Near Erbil Battles for Life"
An 82nd Airborne Division pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn, was critically injured by shrapnel from a drone attack on al-Harir airbase in Erbil on Christmas day. The attack, which injured three troops, was attributed to the Iraqi Shia militant group Kataib Hezbollah. In response, the U.S. conducted retaliatory airstrikes against the group. Meanwhile, U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea have been actively engaging with Houthi rebel attacks, leading to the formation of "Operation Prosperity Guardian" to protect commercial shipping in the region. The increase in regional tensions follows over 100 attacks on U.S. troops and bases in Iraq and Syria since October, coinciding with escalated conflict between Israel and Hamas.