US Conducts 'Retaliatory' Strikes Against Kataib Hezbollah, Other Groups in Iraq

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States carried out strikes against three targets of Kataib Hezbollah and associated groups in Iraq in response to a drone attack on Erbil Air Base where coalition forces are stationed, the US Department of Defense said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Iraqi military said that a military base hosting the US-led international coalition forces near the airport of Erbil had been attacked by a drone.

"Today, at President Biden's direction, US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said in a statement.

The statement added that three US servicemen were injured as a result of Monday’s attack on the Erbil base, with one of them being in critical condition.

The US Central Command said on X that these airstrikes reached their targets and destroyed facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah militants and affiliated groups.