The strikes, which were first reported by Reuters, appeared to be limited in scope, potentially lowering the risk of escalation.
Speaking to reporters following the announcement of the strikes, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that he was confident they had hit the correct targets.
"We know what we hit. And we're confident that that target was being used by the same Shi'ite militia that conducted the strikes," he said.
Biden's decision to strike only in Syria and not in Iraq, at least for now, also gives the Iraqi government some breathing room as it carries out its own investigation of a Feb. 15 attack that wounded Americans.
Video Transcript
LLOYD AUSTIN: Mr. Kirby has provided you with some information on the strike that we conducted this evening. And there's not much more that I'll be able to add at this point other than the fact that we're confident in the target that we went after. We know what we hit. And-- and we're confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militia that that conducted the strikes.
And-- and so we're very deliberate about our approach, as you would expect this to be. We allowed and encouraged the Iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence. And that was very helpful to us in refining the target.
It was my recommendation. We've said a number of times, we will respond, at-- you know, on our timeline. And once again, we want to be sure of the connectivity and want to be sure that we hit the right target.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
LLOYD AUSTIN: It was today, yes.
- Today, was it this morning? [INAUDIBLE]
LLOYD AUSTIN: Yes, it was this morning.
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