Shafaq News / The White House announced, on Monday evening, that some members of Congress had been informed before carrying out the air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

The White House confirmed in a statement that "the air strikes that targeted Iranian-backed militias are justified," noting that President Joe Biden ordered these air strikes "to reduce escalation, and they were necessary and appropriate."

According to the White House, these air strikes aimed to reducing the risk of escalation and have no relation with the Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's visit to Washington.”

The United States said on Sunday it carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed factions in Iraq and Syria, “this time in response to drone attacks by the factions against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.”

In a statement, the U.S. military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq. It did not disclose whether it believed anyone was killed or injured but officials said assessments were ongoing.

Iraqi groups aligned with Iran in a statement named four members of the Kata’ib Sayyed al-Shuhada faction they said were killed in the attack on the Syria-Iraq border. They vowed to retaliate.