US Retaliates After Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Injure 3 In Drone Attack
The United States announced on Monday evening that it had conducted airstrikes on three facilities in Iraq used by Iran-backed militia groups, after a drone attack by the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah group on Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq injured three American soldiers, with one in critical condition following the attack.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said that the airstrikes were conducted at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time on Monday. Central Command’s initial assessments were that the airstrikes destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kata’ib Hezbollah militants. It added that it had “no indications that any civilian lives were affected”, and the outcomes of the airstrikes would continue to be monitored.
“These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, U.S. Central Command Commander.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the attack immediately after it, ordering the preparation of response options against the attackers. “Those options were then presented to the President during a call this afternoon with Secretary of Defense Austin and members of the President’s national security team. During that call, the President directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities”, said Watson in a statement.
While Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have conducted small scale attacks with artillery rockets and suicide drones on American forces in the region that are part of the coalition against the Islamic State for several years, the frequency of the attacks has dramatically increased since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas in October. The United States conducted its first airstrike in Iraq in two years in November, with an AC-130 gunship strike on Iran-backed militants that launched a short-range ballistic missile at al-Asad Air Base.