Joe Biden Orders Military to Launch ‘Defensive Precision Airstrikes’ Against Iran-Backed Militia

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President Joe Biden directed U.S. military forces to launch airstrikes Sunday in Syria and Iraq against two Iran-backed militia groups, according to the Pentagon.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement: “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 had been conducting “unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.”

According to Kirby, the U.S. targeted three locations — two in Syria and one in Iraq — that were “operational and weapons storage facilities… [used by] several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS).”

Kirby said the airstrikes were designed to “send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message” while limiting “the risk of escalation.”

A defense official told ABC News that this is the second attack Biden has ordered. The first was on Feb. 25, when the Pentagon destroyed “multiple facilities” in response to attacks against U.S. personnel. Syria previously condemned the February airstrikes as a “bad sign” from the new administration.