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US military forces carried out what a Pentagon official called “defensive” air strikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday against Iran-backed militias that were behind drone attacks on American personnel.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the air strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one in Iraq. Kirby said the facilities were used by at least the Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada militias.
Jessica McNulty, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said each strike hit its intended target. But the effect of the operation remained unclear.
Kirby said President Joe Biden, who authorized the strikes, “directed further military action to disrupt and deter” attacks on US facilities and personnel in Iraq. McNulty said there have been five drone attacks since April. She added that the missile strikes were “ongoing”.
“We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS,” Kirby said. “The United States took necessary, appropriate and deliberate action to reduce the risk of escalation – but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message.”
The official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported that a child was injured and three other civilians were injured, but this has not been independently confirmed by NBC News.
The air strikes come as the Biden administration considers lifting sanctions on Iran in a bid to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which was negotiated under the Obama administration and sought to weaken Iran’s ability to enrich uranium.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement three years ago, arguing that it was leaning toward Iran. The Trump administration has also imposed devastating sanctions on the country.
US forces launched air strikes earlier this year against Iranian-backed militias that the Pentagon said were behind a missile attack in northern Iraq. The attack killed a Filipino contractor working with a US-led military coalition and injured six people, including a Louisiana National Guard soldier and four US contractors.
Courtney Cobb
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