Multiple US servicemen were injured in a missile attack on an Iraqi facility, according to officials, heightening already high tensions in the region amid an anticipated Iranian counterattack on Israel.
The Ain al-Assad facility, which is home to US troops and members of the coalition led by the US against the Islamic State terrorist organization, has been the victim of several attacks, the most recent of which was a rocket launch on Monday.
“There was a suspected rocket attack today against US and coalition forces” at the site in western Iraq, a US defence spokesperson said. “Initial indications are that several US personnel were injured.”
“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment” and updates will be provided as more information becomes available, the spokesperson added.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the attack, the White House said.
“They discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing,” it said in a statement.
Two rockets were fired at the base, the Iraqi officials reported on Tuesday.
The government’s security media section announced that security personnel had taken control of a truck carrying eight missiles that were ready to be launched and were hunting down the attackers.
Multiple rockets were mentioned earlier by an Iraqi military source, and an armed group leader supporting Iran told AFP that at least two rockets had hit the base, however they did not identify the perpetrator.
These attacks have mostly stopped since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.
The latest rocket fire comes as fears grow of an attack by Iran and its allies on Israel in retaliation for the killing of top Hamas and Hezbollah figures in strikes last week either blamed on or claimed by Israel.
