Washington, Dec 26 (EFE).- Three American soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, in a drone attack carried out by the pro-Iran militias of Kataib Hezbollah in northern Iraq, the White House said on Monday.
The United States President, Joe Biden, ordered the bombing of three bases used by militias in retaliation, although no number of casualties was reported.
“Early this morning in northern Iraq, US military personnel were targeted by a one-way attack drone. The attack wounded three US service-members, one critically,” White House Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement.
Biden, who is at the Camp David presidential residence spending Christmas, was “immediately briefed on the attack” and ordered the Department of Defense to prepare a response against those responsible for the attack.
“The President directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities.”
The spokesperson assured that Biden’s highest priority is the “protection” of US personnel and warned that the country would continue to respond if these types of attacks continued.
Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq has claimed responsibility for more than 80 attacks on US targets in Syria and Iraq since mid-October, in response to the US’ “unwavering” support for Israel and in support of Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
These militias, as well as the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, adhered to the truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas that took place in the last week of November.
But they resumed their actions after the resumption of Israeli bombings in the Palestinian enclave. EFE
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