WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department says the U.S. military conducted airstrikes against what it says were “facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups” near the border between Iraq and Syria. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby says the militias were using the facilities to launch unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. Kirby says the U.S. military, under the direction of President Joe Biden, targeted three operational and weapons storage facilities, two in Syria and one in Iraq. It was the second time the Biden administration has taken military action in the region since Biden took over earlier this year, but there is no indication that Sunday’s attacks were meant as the start of a wider, sustained U.S. air campaign in the border region.