The US military carried out strikes on three sites used by Iran-backed forces in Iraq on Monday after an attack wounded American personnel earlier in the day, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “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.