U.S. bombs facilities in Syria

The U.S. military launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday near the Iraqi border, targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The strikes killed one militiaman and wounded several others. It was the first military action under President Joe Biden. The Pentagon said the mission was in retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member.

What else is the Pentagon saying? John Kirby, spokesman for the Department of Defense, called the airstrikes a “proportionate military response.” He said the U.S. attack “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups.”

Dig deeper: Read a report in The Sift by Harvest Prude and Mickey McLean about the U.S. attack last year that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.