乔·拜登总统下令空袭据五角大楼新闻秘书约翰·柯比称，本周末，伊朗支持的民兵组织在伊拉克-叙利亚边境附近对无人驾驶飞行器的袭击作出回应。

科尔比周日在一份声明中说:“在拜登总统的指示下，美国军队今晚早些时候对伊朗支持的民兵组织在伊拉克-叙利亚边境地区使用的设施进行了防御性精确空袭。”。“选择这些目标是因为这些设施被伊朗支持的民兵所利用，这些民兵参与了对伊拉克境内美国人员和设施的无人机攻击。”

科尔比说，美国是在其合法权利范围内采取行动的，并说空袭是自卫。

科尔比在声明中说:“袭击对于应对威胁是必要的，而且范围也有适当的限制。”“就国内法而言，总统根据第二条授权采取了这一行动，以保护在伊拉克的美国人员。”

一名国防官员告诉美国广播公司新闻，美国空军在中央指挥区的美国基地的F-15和F-16在美国东部时间下午6点左右用精确制导弹药进行了周日的空袭。这位官员说，现在知道是否有民兵或平民伤亡还为时过早。

这位官员说，被美国袭击的地点被确定具有指挥、控制和后勤能力。

埃文·武奇/美联社

档案——在这张2021年6月25日的档案照片中，乔·拜登总统在一次对国会议员的活动中发表讲话...

一名国防官员表示，这是拜登政府下令的第二次袭击，最后一次是在2月25日针对伊朗支持的民兵组织的火箭袭击。

五角大楼发言人杰西卡·麦纽提中校说，自4月份以来，该地区已经发生了5起针对美国和联军设施的“单向无人机袭击”，以及“正在进行的火箭袭击”

一名国防部官员证实，这五起袭击没有造成美国或联军伤亡。

麦纽提在一份声明中说:“这些袭击是必要的、适当的，也是旨在限制升级风险的蓄意行动。”。“通过这些和其他手段，我们寻求向伊朗和伊朗支持的民兵组织表明，如果他们继续袭击，或武装、资助和训练袭击我国人民的民兵组织，将会产生严重后果。我们将采取必要和适当的措施保护美国在该地区的人员、伙伴和盟友。”

拜登周日从戴维营返回白宫时，总统没有回答记者就空袭发出的问题。

Biden orders airstrikes on Iran-backed militias near Iraq-Syria border in response to UAV attacks

President Joe Biden orderedairstrikesthis weekend on Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border in response to unmanned aerial vehicle attacks, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.

"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 in a statement Sunday. "The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq."

Kirby said the U.S. acted within its legal rights and said the airstrikes were a matter of self-defense.

"The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope," Kirby's statement said. "As a matter of domestic law, the President took this action pursuant to his Article II authority to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq."

U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s from U.S. bases in the Central Command region carried out Sunday's airstrikes with precision-guided munitions at about 6 p.m. ET, a defense official told ABC News. The official said it's too early to know if there were any militia or civilian casualties.

The sites hit by the U.S. were determined to have had command, control and logistics capabilities, the official said.

A defense official said this is the second such attack ordered under the Biden administration, the last being on Feb. 25 against Iranian-backed militia groups in response to rocket attacks.

Since April, there have been five "one-way UAV attacks," as well as "ongoing rocket attacks," on U.S. and coalition facilities in the region, according to Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Jessica McNulty

There were no U.S. or coalition casualties from those five attacks, a defense official confirmed.

“The strikes were necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation," McNulty said in a statement. "Through these and other means, we seek to make clear to Iran and Iran-backed militia groups that there will be serious consequences if they continue to attack, or to arm, fund, and train militia groups that attack our people. We will take necessary and appropriate measures to defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region.”

As Biden returned to the White House Sunday from Camp David, the president did not answer questions shouted from reporters about the airstrikes.