Washington’s army launched retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq on Monday following a drone attack by an Iranian group earlier in the day.
The drone attack left one US service member in critical condition and wounded two others, officials said. Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq and Syria oppose the Israeli campaign in Gaza and hold the US partly responsible.
The White House National Security Council said Biden was briefed on the attack Monday morning and ordered the Pentagon to prepare options to retaliate against the perpetrators. The US military said the strikes followed Joe Biden’s order at 1:45 GMT, which likely killed “several members of Kataib Hezbollah” and destroyed numerous facilities used by the group. General Michael Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, said:
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.
On Monday, the US base in Iraq’s Erbil, where US troops are stationed, was previously targeted by a drone attack. The base has been targeted multiple times. Since October 17, there have been 103 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria. Washington has around 2,500 soldiers deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria.
