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The retaliatory strikes, which took place about 6 p.m. Thursday in Washington, or 2 a.m. Friday in eastern Syria, had been in the works for several days as American intelligence agencies worked to establish high confidence that the two Iraqi militia were responsible for the rocket attacks.

American officials said the attack killed a “handful” of militia, but the Pentagon did not provide any detailed assessment of the damage.

Saberin News Telegram channel, which is affiliated with Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, reported one dead and several injured. It said the strikes targeted an empty building and another structure used by the militia. The bases were in an area between Al Qaem and Abu Kamal, near the Syria-Iraq border.

Mr. Biden authorized the strikes on Thursday morning, as his defense secretary was at a hotel in San Diego, preparing to visit the aircraft carrier Nimitz, which was returning home from the Persian Gulf.

Mr. Austin expressed confidence that the facilities targeted were used by militia groups responsible for the attacks. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane Thursday evening, he said that the Biden administration had been “deliberate” in its approach.

“We allowed and encouraged the Iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence and it was very helpful to us in refining the target,” he said.

The Biden administration has taken a more measured response to the rocket fusillade in Erbil than Mr. Trump’s pitched campaign against Iran and past actions of its proxies in Iraq — one that often caught the Iraqi government in the crossfire.