BREAKING NEWS – US launches airstrikes on facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups on the Iraq-Syria border in response to drone attacks

• Strikes were launched by US military Sunday night
• Targeted operations and weapons storage along Iraq-Syria border
• Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced the military action
• Kirby said facilities were involved in drone attacks on US personnel and facilities in Iraq
• It is unclear if anyone was injured or killed  

The United States has launched what it says are defensive airstrikes against Iran-backed militias along the Iraq-Syria border.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the ‘precision’ strikes had been launched on Sunday evening, and added that multiple Iran-backed milita groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) had been targeted.

Kirby said the targets had been chosen because they had previously launched drone strikes against US personnel and bases in Iraq.

It is unclear if anyone was injured or killed in those strikes.

Kirby said: ‘At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region.

‘The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.

‘Specifically, the U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries.