Saudi fighter jets bombed targets linked to powerful Tehran-backed Shi¡¯ite militias in Iraq during the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, while retaliatory strikes were also launched from Kuwait into Iraq, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

The strikes are part of a broader pattern of military responses around the Persian Gulf that remained largely hidden during a conflict that began with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and has spread to the wider Middle East. For this report,?three Iraqi security ?and military officials, a Western official,?and two people briefed on the matter, one of them in the U.S., were spoken to.

The Saudi strikes were carried out by Saudi ?air force fighter ?jets on Iran-linked militia targets near the kingdom¡¯s northern border with Iraq, one Western official and the person briefed on the ?matter said. The Western official said some strikes took place around the time of the April 7 U.S.-Iran ceasefire.