Saturday’s attack on Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base left US service members with minor injuries and one member of Iraqi security forces wounded.
The base was hit by ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iranian-backed militias from inside Iraq, according to a statement from US Central Command. In addition, the extent of the US military’s injuries has not yet been specified, but a medical examination is underway.
Central Command said most of the missiles were intercepted, although others hit the base.
The US military’s assessment was harsher than initial reports from Iraqi security sources who, along with an Iraqi government source, reported only rocket fire on the base: “Damage assessments are ongoing,” Central Command said.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October, the US military has been attacked at least 58 times in Iraq and another 83 times in Syria by Iranian-backed forces, usually with unilateral rockets and drones.
Iraq is deeply concerned that it could become a battleground between the US, Israel and Iran, leading Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office announced the expulsion of US troops after a US drone strike on Baghdad, which was condemned by the government.
