Late Sunday night, the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias in both Iraq and Syria.
Joe Biden allegedly gave the order for what the the Pentagon calls “defensive precision airstrikes.”
Three facilities were targeted which were used by Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, who have both launched drone attacks against U.S. forces in the area.
The attacks were carried out by F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and the targets were near the Iraq-Syria border.
Joe Biden critics and allies alike are now questioning the administration for the attacks.
Fox Newshas more on the airstrikes:
The U.S. military has conducted defensive precision airstrikes against three facilities near the Iraq-Syria border region Sunday evening.
According to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, the facilities are used by several Iran-backed militia groups engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq, including Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS).
"As demonstrated by this evening's strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel. Given the ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, the President directed further military action to disrupt and deter such attacks," Kirby added. "The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation - but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message."
A U.S. defense official with knowledge of the strikes told Fox News that US Air Force F-15s and F-16s were used in the operation. The strikes took place at approximately 6 p.m. Eastern Time, or 1 a.m. local time.
Our friends at the Washington Examiner with more:
On orders of President Joe Biden, U.S. F-15 and F-16 fighter jets carried out airstrikes Sunday against buildings along the Iraq-Syria border the Pentagon says have been used by Iranian-backed militia groups to facilitate attacks against U.S. forces based in Iraq.
“We are in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in a statement released last night. “The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message.”
“As a matter of international law, the United States acted pursuant to its right of self-defense. The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope,” Kirby said, describing the strikes as “defensive” and “appropriately limited in scope,” aimed at disrupting and deterring future attacks. “President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel.”
SEE FOR YOURSELF: The Pentagon this morning released a series of cockpit videos showing the targets and the strikes by land-based aircraft in the regions.
The strikes conducted by at least two U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles and an F-16CM destroyed a number of buildings that the Pentagon described as “weapons storage facilities,” used by the Iranian proxy militias Kataib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
“The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq,” Kirby said. “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.”
Biden now faces criticism from the Left, as well as the Right for the bombings:
The U.S. military released footage of the bombings.
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