The Pentagon claimed on Sunday that the US carried out three airstrikes in Iraq and Syria early Monday morning. The airstrikes targeted weapons storage facilities used by Iranian-backed militias that have carried out armed drone strikes against places where the US military has been stationed in recent weeks.
The Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby stated that the sites hit by the Iranian-backed militias were used for drone strikes in locations where the Americans were stationed, including Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. In late February, the US launched airstrikes in eastern Syria on structures linked to what the Pentagon identified as Iran-backed militias responsible for recent assaults in Iraq against American and allied soldiers.
Per Fox News, a US strike defense officer said to Fox News that the F-15s and F-16s of the US air force were launched during the operation. At about 6 p.m. Eastern Time or 1 a.m. local time, strikes took place.
The US targets Iran-backed militants facilities
The officer said that there was damage to at least one facility used by Iran militants to start and retrieve drones. The Americans in Baghdad and Erbil in Northern Iraq have been targeted by recent crude drone strikes. The official also remarked that he did not expect "many losses" from the Iranian-supported forces due to the time the strikes were launched.
A defense official told Military Times that the US aircraft, which has returned safe to their bases, utilized a combination of precision-guided explosives. "It is too early to assess whether there were militia or civilian casualties," he added.
The Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center was hit by a drone strike earlier this month, according to Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, head of US Central Command, in an exclusive interview with Military Times on June 11.
Army Col. Wayne Marotto, a coalition spokesman, said earlier this month that there were minor casualties among American soldiers at the facility, which accommodates several hundred US/Coalition service members stationed there.
A US Embassy spokesperson informed Military Times that the diplomatic facility suffered minor damage and some personnel were treated and released for smoke inhalation. He did not say whether the injured personnel were soldiers or civilians and did not mention what kind of munitions were used.
Why did Biden order airstrikes against Iraq, Syria?
According to Navy Cmdr. Jessica McNulty, a Pentagon spokeswoman, the US airstrikes on Sunday were in reaction to continued Iran-backed militia drone and rocket attacks against US and coalition forces in Iraq.
It remains uncertain if anyone was hurt or killed as a result of the attacks. When reporters asked President Joe Biden about the airstrikes when he arrived at the White House from Camp David on Sunday evening, he said, "Tomorrow," Daily Mail reported.
Kirby said in a statement released Sunday evening that due to the recent US attacks Biden has made clear that he will act to protect troops. Given the continuous sequence of assaults in Iraq by Iran-backed militant groups aimed at US interests, President Biden has ordered further military action to disrupt and prevent such operations.
The February strikes were retaliation for attacks on US interests in Iraq, including a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and injured a US service member and other coalition troops, according to Pentagon officials. Two Air Force F-15E aircraft delivered seven precision-guided munitions, destroying nine facilities and severely injuring two others, making the two functionally destroyed. He said the facilities, which were located near border entry checkpoints, had been used by militia groups that the US blamed for a series of recent attacks against US interests in Iraq.
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