U.S. airstrikes hit Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq after drone attack

U.S. strikes focused three areas utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated teams for aerial drone actions, Nationwide Safety Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson stated in an announcement.

President Biden was instantly briefed on the assault on U.S. personnel, Watson stated, including that he directed the retaliatory strikes.

Iran-backed militia teams have waged a spate of attacks on U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria, as anger within the Center East grows over U.S. assist for Israel’s army marketing campaign in Gaza, which has killed greater than 20,000 individuals. The Washington Submit final month reported that since Oct. 17, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria had confronted near-daily assaults from rocket hearth and one-way drones.

The Biden administration has carried out related retaliatory strikes in Syria, together with on an Iranian weapons facility and on websites related to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October and November.

The administration is conscious that any overreaction to the assaults on U.S. personnel may inflame a broader regional conflict. “Whereas we don’t search to escalate battle within the area, we’re dedicated and totally ready to take additional vital measures to guard our individuals and our amenities,” Austin stated within the assertion Monday.

About 3,500 U.S. troops stay in Iraq and Syria to stop a resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group. Iran has lengthy backed militias in an effort to dislodge U.S. presence within the area.

“These strikes are meant to carry accountable these parts instantly answerable for assaults on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their capacity to proceed assaults,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, stated in a statement.

In keeping with the statement by Centcom, early assessments point out that the airstrikes Monday in all probability killed a “variety of Kataib Hezbollah militants.” The Shiite militant group was designated a international terrorist group by the State Department in 2009.