2023 Dec. President Biden responds to a reporter's question as he walks off Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on the 20th.
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Alex Brandon/AP
2023 Dec. President Biden responds to a reporter's question as he walks off Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on the 20th.
Alex Brandon/AP
WASHINGTON – President Biden ordered the US military to retaliate against Iran-backed militant groups after a drone strike in northern Iraq wounded three US soldiers.
National Security Council spokesman Adrian Watson said one of the US troops was critically wounded in the attack earlier Monday. Hezbollah and its affiliated groups, under the umbrella of Iranian-backed militias, claimed responsibility for the attack, which used a one-way attack drone.
White House National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan issued a warning about Monday's attack as Biden, who is celebrating Christmas at the presidential palace in Camp David, Maryland. Attack on Erbil Air Base
Sullivan consulted with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Biden's deputy national security adviser, John Feiner, was with the president at Camp David and convened top aides to review the options, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
Within hours, Biden convened his National Security Council for a call, in which Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, briefed Biden on response options. The official said Biden chose to target three locations used by Hezbollah and affiliated groups.
The U.S. strikes came at 4:45 a.m. Tuesday in Iraq, less than 13 hours after U.S. personnel were attacked. According to the US Central Command, the retaliatory strikes at the three bases “destroyed the targeted facilities and may have killed several forced Hezbollah fighters.”
“The president has not placed a higher priority than the safety of American personnel who are serving in harm's way,” Watson said. “If these attacks are to continue, the United States will act at a time and in a way we choose.”
The latest attack on U.S. troops follows an escalation of threats and actions against U.S. forces in the region on Oct. 7 after a Hamas attack on Israel sparked a devastating war in Gaza.
The deadly back-and-forth strikes have escalated since Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria under the umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance began attacking U.S. facilities on Oct. 17, the day a hospital bombing in Gaza killed hundreds. Iranian-backed militants have carried out dozens of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
The U.S. has blamed Iran for funding and training Hamas, as well as attacks by Yemen's Houthi militias against commercial and military ships through key shipping chokepoints in the Red Sea.
The Biden administration sought to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a broader regional conflict that would open up new fronts in the Israeli conflict or draw the United States directly into it. The administration's measured response — not every attempt on American troops was met with a counterattack — drew criticism from Republicans.
There are thousands of troops in Iraq training Iraqi forces to fight the remnants of the Islamic State group, and hundreds of troops in Syria, mostly on missions against IS. They have come under dozens of attacks, but no casualties so far, and since the war began on October 7, the US has claimed responsibility for pro-Iranian groups.
“While we are not seeking to escalate conflict in the region, we are determined and fully prepared to take any further action necessary to protect our people and our facilities,” Austin said in a statement.
