US bases in Iraq targeted in militia rocket and drone attacks
Iranian-backed Iraqi militias reportedly launched several rocket and drone barrages on bases hosting American forces in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, just nine days after deadly United States airstrikes on the armed groups that were meant to deter such attacks.
US and local media outlets reported attacks on the Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq, another overnight base near the northern Iraqi city of Erbil and another attack on an oil field where American forces are positioned in northeast Syria.
At least two people suffered minor injuries after 14 rockets struck the massive military base at Ain al-Assad shortly after noon local time, a US official said.
“The rockets landed on the base and perimeter,” US Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for US-led forces in Iraq, said in a tweet. “Force protection defensive measures were activated.”
Col Marotto vowed “100 per cent accountability” for the Ain al-Assad attack, suggesting the possibility of a US counterattack.
