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US retaliates in Iraq with strikes on 3 sites used by Iran-backed militias
- The strikes were in response to attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria by the militias, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says
- There have been 103 attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17, according to a tally by US military officials
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The US military carried out strikes on three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq on Monday after an attack wounded three American personnel earlier in the day, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
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Washington has repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria in response to dozens of attacks on American and allied forces in the region since the October 7 outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war.
“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Austin said in a statement.
“These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataeb Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Arbil Air Base earlier today,” he said.
That attack wounded three US military personnel, one critically, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
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