On December 25, the US military struck three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq after an attack earlier in the day injured US personnel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
"US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes against three sites used by Kataeb Hezbollah and its affiliated groups in Iraq," the US secretary said.
"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 Kataeb Hezbollah and related groups on the Arbil Air Base in early today," Austin stated.
At least one member of a pro-Iranian faction was killed and 24 people were wounded in strikes on three sites in Iraq used by pro-Iranian forces, Iraqi security sources said.
An Interior Ministry official said the strikes targeted a Hashed al-Shaabi target in the central city of Hilla, capital of Babylon province. One person was killed and 20 wounded, and four others were injured in a second strike in the southern province of Wasit.
The government said the strikes, which killed one member of the security forces and wounded 18 others, including civilians, were an "unacceptable attack on Iraqi sovereignty" that had damaged bilateral relations. /BGNES
