"US Troop Base in Western Iraq Attacked by Over 10 Rockets"

Iraqi Military: "No Serious Damage... Rocket Launcher Discovered"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] A U.S.-led international coalition base stationed in western Iraq was hit by a rocket attack.

According to foreign media including the AP News, the international coalition and Iraqi forces announced that more than 10 rockets fell on Ain al-Asad Airbase in Anbar Province at around 7:20 a.m. local time on the 3rd. Wayne Marotto, spokesperson for the international coalition, stated, "Iraqi security forces are leading the investigation into the attack."

The Iraqi military said in a statement, "This attack did not cause serious damage," and "Iraqi security forces have discovered the launchers used in the attack." AFP cited security officials saying that Iranian-made 122mm rockets were used in the attack.

This attack is seen as retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes on pro-Iranian militia facilities near the Iraq-Syria border in eastern Syria on the 25th of last month. At that time, the U.S. struck facilities of pro-Iranian militias such as Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) near the Iraq border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian civil war monitoring group, reported that at least 22 people were killed in the attack, all of whom were Iraqi nationals.

The U.S. stated that the airstrikes on pro-Iranian militias in Syria were a response to a rocket attack on a U.S. military base in Erbil, the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. On the 15th of last month, the Erbil U.S. military base was hit by a rocket attack, resulting in the death of one civilian and injuries to eight civilians and one U.S. soldier.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "We are outraged by the rocket attack that took place in the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region." U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin claimed, "Pro-Iranian groups are behind the rocket attack."