Biden orders airstrikes on Iran-backed militias near Iraq-Syria border
27 June 2021
President Joe Biden directed airstrikes on Iran-backed militia groups near the Iraq-Syria border in response to unmanned aerial vehicle attacks, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Sunday.
Driving the news: "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," Kirby said.
- "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. Several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), used these facilities."
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