10 rockets hit airbase hosting US troops in Iraq
There was no official confirmation on the casualties or damage caused due to this attack so far.
As many as 10 rockets hit an Iraqi military airbase hosting United States-led coalition troops on Wednesday, reported CNN. There was no official confirmation on the casualties or damage caused due to this attack so far.
“10 IDF [Indirect fire] rockets targeted an Iraqi military base, Al Asad Airbase, hosting coalition troops, on March 03, 2021 at approx [approximately] 7:20 am [Iraqi time],” Army Colonel Wayne Marotto, the US-led coalition’s spokesperson, said in a tweet. “Iraqi SF [security forces] are leading the response and investigation. Further information will be released as it becomes available.”
Major General Tahseen al-Khafaji of the Iraqi forces told NBC News that there were no casualties or damage reported at the airbase.
Initial report: 10 IDF rockets targeted an Iraqi military base, Al Asad Airbase, hosting Coalition troops, on March 03, 2021 at approx 7:20 a.m. (Iraqi time). Iraqi SF are leading the response & investigation. Further information will be released as it becomes available.
— OIR Spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto (@OIRSpox) March 3, 2021
Wednesday’s attack came after a US airstrike last week in eastern Syria that killed one militant in a Iran-backed militia and injured two others. The airbase in Anbar province was attacked in January last year in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani.
The Iraqi military said that Wednesday’s attack did not lead to any substantial loss, according AP. An unidentified military official told CNN that the rocket launcher was found near the town of al-Baghdadi.
The attack came amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. On February 16, a civilian contractor was killed and an American service member injured in a rocket attack on US-led forces in northern Iraq, Reuters reported.