The Pentagon released a statement following the strikes, confirming that they were conducted in response to the rocket attacks on Wednesday. "Earlier this evening, the United States conducted defensive precision strikes against Kata’ib Hizbollah (KH) facilities across Iraq," the Defense Department said. "These strikes targeted five weapon storage facilities to significantly degrade their ability to conduct future attacks against Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces. "These strikes were defensive, proportional, and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups (SMG) who continue to attack bases hosting OIR coalition forces," the Pentagon added. As we have demonstrated in recent months, we will take any action necessary to protect our forces in Iraq and the region."

Source: Fox News March 12, 2020 22:27 UTC