Drone attack on Iraq military base wounds 3 U.S. service members, Pentagon says

A drone attack by an Iran-affiliated terrorist group on a military base in Iraq early Monday morning left three U.S. service members wounded, the Pentagon said, and prompted retaliatory strikes.  

The attack on the Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq was conducted by Kataib Hezbollah militants, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. One of the three service members wounded is in critical condition, Austin disclosed.

In response, President Biden —after being briefed and holding a call with Austin and his national security team and  — ordered retaliatory strikes on “three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

According to U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes on three sites, all located in Iraq, were conducted at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time and “likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants.” 

No civilians were believed to have been wounded or killed, CENTCOM said. 

There has been dozens of attacks by Iranian-backed militias targeting U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the violent Oct. 7 terror assault on Israel by Hamas.  

Last month, several U.S. service members were injured in a ballistic missile attack on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq.  

This is a developing story and will be updated.