Early on Christmas morning, three U.S. service members were injured, one critically, in an assault on Erbil Air Base attributed to an Iranian-backed militia group.
In response, President Biden issued an order for airstrikes against three locations in Iraq.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement on Monday that Biden oversaw the strikes against three facilities utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated organizations, which initially targeted U.S. personnel.
The U.S. asserts that all of the organizations have ties to Iran.
The statement claimed that a one-way attack drone was responsible for the assault and that the three locations were “specifically targeted for unmanned aerial drone activities.”
“President Biden was immediately briefed on the attack this morning, and he ordered the Department of Defense to prepare response options against those responsible. 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,” the statement read.
Biden reportedly ordered the retaliatory strikes upon learning of the attack that injured U.S. service members, according to the statement.
The assaults occur as the Israeli occupation of Gaza further escalates regional tensions.
In response to the bombardment of Gaza, militia groups throughout the region, backed by Iran, have increased their military activities, whereas the Biden administration has supported Israel in the conflict.
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