President Joe Biden ordered strikes against Iranian-backed militia groups in response to a drone strike that injured three US soldiers in northern Iraq.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the soldiers suffered serious injuries in the attack early Monday. The Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia and affiliated pro-Iranian groups claimed responsibility for the attack.
Biden, who is spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was briefed on the attack on Monday and directed the Pentagon to provide him with response options.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the national security team quickly put together plans and presented the options during a phone call. The president ordered strikes against three sites used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups.
The latest attack on U.S. soldiers comes after several months of escalating threats and actions against Washington's forces in the region since Hamas's October 7 invasion of southern Israel that sparked the devastating war in Gaza.
The United States blames Iran, which has provided funding and training to Hamas, for escalating violence by its network of proxy groups in the region, including attacks by Houthis in Yemen on military and commercial ships on a key trade route in the Red sea sea.