One Iraqi security personnel was killed, and 18 people were injured, including civilians, by the U.S. bombing of Iraqi military sites on Tuesday morning, according to a statement by the Iraqi Media Office of the Prime Minister.

The Iraqi government condemned the U.S. attacks in the statement, calling them "hostile acts" that infringed upon Iraq's sovereignty and were deemed unacceptable under any circumstances or justification.

The U.S. military carried out retaliatory air strikes on Iraq on Monday after a drone attack by Iran-aligned militants earlier in the day that injured three U.S. personnel, including one service member who is in critical condition, according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

(Cover: Iraqi security forces stationed at the Freedom Monument in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Iraq, December 26, 2023. /CFP)