US forces carried out strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq on Monday in response to a drone attack that injured three US service members.
US strikes targeted three sites used by Kataib Hezbollah and related groups, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement:
"These precision strikes are in response to a series of attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-linked Kataib Hezbollah and related groups on the Erbil Air Base earlier today, with the aim of disrupting and degrading the capabilities of Iranian militant groups which are directly responsible".
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Kataib Hezbollah, part of an Iran-backed militant umbrella group, claimed responsibility for Monday's attack and that one US military member was seriously injured.
The Iraqi government opposed the US airstrikes, calling them a "hostile act" and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
US and coalition forces have been operating in the region as part of the mission to counter the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Those forces have come under repeated attacks by Iran-backed proxy forces, with around 100 attacks since Israel began an offensive aimed at eliminating the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip.
The US military said it disrupted most of those attacks, or that they failed to reach their targets and caused no damage. But a few, like Monday's, have injured US military personnel.
Previous retaliatory strikes have targeted Kataib Hezbollah and other groups, including US strikes in November.
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