U.S. strikes Iran-backed militias in Iraq after troops wounded in drone attack

U.S. military forces on Monday carried out precision strikes against Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. The strikes followed a drone attack by the groups on Irbil air base earlier in the day that injured three service members. One is in critical condition, he said.

U.S. strikes targeted three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups for aerial drone activities, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

President Biden was immediately briefed on the attack on U.S. personnel, Watson said, adding that he directed the retaliatory strikes.

Iranian-backed militia groups are believed to have waged a spate of attacks on U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria, as anger in the Middle East grows over U.S. support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. More than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. The Washington Post last month reported that since Oct. 17, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria had faced near-daily assaults from rocket fire and one-way drones.