The U.S. military carried out retaliatory air strikes on Dec. 25 in northern Iraq after a one-way drone attack earlier in the day, launched by Iran-aligned militants, that left one U.S. service member in critical condition and wounded two other U.S. personnel at a base in Erbil, Iraq, officials said.
The back-and-forth clash was the latest demonstration of the Israel-Hamas war rippling across the Middle East, turning U.S. troops at bases in Iraq and Syria into targets.
Iran-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in Gaza and hold the U.S partly responsible.
At President Joe Biden's direction, the U.S. military carried out the strikes in Iraq at 1:45 GMT, likely killing "a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants" and destroying multiple facilities used by the group, the U.S. military said. (Reuters 12/25/23) US retaliates in Iraq after three US troops wounded in attack | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III released a statement regarding the action at Statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on U.S. Strikes in Iraq > U.S. Department of Defense > Release
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