Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops injured in drone attack in Iraq

President Biden ordered retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq after three U.S. servicemembers were injured in a drone attack by an Iranian-backed militia group, Kataib Hezbollah.

The drone attack on U.S. troops occurred earlier on Monday before President Biden ordered the retaliatory airstrikes.

The U.S. military conducted the retaliatory strikes on three locations used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq.

The U.S. retaliatory strikes destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants, according to U.S. Central Command.

The U.S. has stated that it will act at a time and in a manner of its choosing should these attacks against American personnel continue.

Tensions have been escalating in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which led to the devastating war in Gaza. Iranian-backed militant groups began striking U.S. facilities on Oct. 17, and there have been dozens of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since then.

The U.S. has responded to previous attacks with airstrikes, including targeting Kataib Hezbollah operations centers and command and control nodes. The U.S. has also attributed responsibility to Iran for attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants in the Red Sea.

The U.S. military has troops in Iraq for training Iraqi forces and combating remnants of the Islamic State group. In Syria, they are mostly engaged in the counter-IS mission.