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A drone assault by an Iran-affiliated terrorist group on a navy base in Iraq early Monday morning left three U.S. service members wounded, the Pentagon mentioned, and prompted President Biden to order retaliatory strikes.
The assault on the Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq was carried out by Kataib Hezbollah militants, Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned in a press release. One of many three service members wounded is in important situation, Austin disclosed.
In response, Mr. Biden — after being briefed and holding a name with Austin and his nationwide safety crew — ordered retaliatory strikes on “three places utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated teams targeted particularly on unmanned aerial drone actions,” Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson mentioned in a press release.
In response to U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on the three websites, all positioned in Iraq, had been carried out at 8:45 p.m. Jap time and “probably killed plenty of Kataib Hezbollah militants.”
No civilians had been believed to have been wounded or killed, CENTCOM mentioned.
There have been dozens of assaults by Iranian-backed militias concentrating on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria because the violent Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel by Hamas — a gaggle that U.S. officers have lengthy mentioned receives monetary and materials help from Iran.
And in response, U.S. forces have carried out a number of rounds of strikes on what protection officers say are Iran-linked weapons services and Iran-backed fighters.
On Nov. 20, a number of U.S. service members had been injured in a ballistic missile assault by Iran-back militias on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, the Pentagon mentioned. In related style to Monday’s retaliation, the U.S. instantly launched strikes on militia-linked services and personnel.
DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP through Getty Photographs
This additionally comes as Iranian-linked Houthi rebels in Yemen have additionally been conducting quite a few assaults on industrial vessels within the Crimson Sea. Final week, the White Home accused Iran of being “deeply concerned” in these Crimson Sea assaults, an allegation Tehran denied.
In a Nov. 15 interview with CBS Information, Iranian International Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied that Iran was liable for a drone fired from Yemen that was shot down by the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner. The drone seemed to be concentrating on the Hudner, U.S. officers mentioned on the time.
“We actually did not need this disaster to develop,” Amir-Abdollahian instructed CBS Information, referencing the Israel-Hamas battle. “However the U.S. has been intensifying the battle in Gaza by throwing its help behind Israel. Yemen makes its personal choices and acts independently.”
Final week, power big BP introduced it was quickly suspending all fuel and oil shipments within the Crimson Sea due to the assaults.
— David Martin, Eleanor Watson, S. Dev, Arden Farhi and Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.
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