US personnel suffered minor injuries during Saturday’s attack on the Ain Al-Asad airbase in western Iraq amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to reports.
US defense sources and Iraqi police officials told AFP that at least a dozen missiles were fired at the base, which houses US and other international troops in Iraq.
“Al-Asad air base was targeted by 15 rockets,” an Iraqi police official told the outlet, adding that the attack came from within Anbar province, the southwestern Iraqi region where the base is located.
The police officer added that while 13 shells were shot down, “two fell on the air base.”
US defense officials confirmed that “missiles impacted the Al-Asad air base,” and damage assessments are underway.
The injured individuals were not immediately identified.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of Iran-backed militia groups opposed to US support for Israel amid its war with Hamas, claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, AFP reported.
US and Iraqi sources said two of the roughly 15 missiles fired hit the air base. AFP via Getty Images
In addition to the injuries to American personnel, a member of Iraqi security forces was seriously injured during Saturday’s strike, according to a US official.
Saturday’s attack came as a spate of attacks hit Iran-linked targets across the Middle East Saturday, with tensions continuing to rise following Israel’s war with Tehran-backed Hamas on Oct. 7.
In the Syrian capital Damascus, an Israeli missile strike on Saturday killed five members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – including the head of the elite force’s information unit, according to reports.
US personnel and a member of Iraqi security forces were injured during Saturday’s attack. AP
Hours later, a separate drone strike in the Lebanese city of Tire hit a car and killed two Hezbollah members.
Since October 7, Tehran’s proxy militias have attacked US troops at least 58 times in Iraq along with another 83 times in Syria, in retaliation for its support for Israel.
The US has 900 troops stationed in Syria and another 2,500 in Iraq to advise local forces on how to fend off any possible return of Islamic State, which seized large swaths of territory in both countries in 2014 before being defeated.
Saturday’s attack on the air base comes as strikes across the Middle East wipe out Iran-related targets REUTERS
The Iraqi government has the opportunity to become a battleground between the US, Israel and Iran.
Following a US drone strike in Baghdad that was condemned by the Iraqi government, the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced it was in the process of expelling American troops from the country.
The Pentagon said the drone strike killed a militia leader behind recent attacks on US personnel.
It added that it had not received any official word from Baghdad about its troops being shot down and that it was in the country at the invitation of the Iraqi government.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
