The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq says at least ten rockets have targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S. troops
BAGHDAD – At least 10 rockets went to a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi army said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties.
The rockets attacked Ain al-Assad air base in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., coalition spokesman Colonel Wayne Marotto said. No one was held responsible for the attack.
The Iraqi military issued a statement saying the attack did not cause significant casualties and that security forces had found the launch pad used for the rockets. He was found in the Al-Baghdadi area of Anbar, an Iraqi military official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the attack with the media.
It was the first attack since the United States attacked the targets of the Iran-aligned militia along the border with Iraq and Syria last week, killing a dead militiaman and sparking fears of a possible repeat of a series of tit-per-tat attacks that escalated last year, culminating in the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassim Soleimani in front of Baghdad airport.
Wednesday’s attack was aimed at the same base where Iran attacked with a missile shower in January last year in retaliation for Soleimani’s assassination. Dozens of members of the American service were injured and suffered concussions in this strike.
The British ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hickey, condemned the attack and said it undermined the ongoing fight against the Islamic State group. “Coalition forces are in Iraq to fight Daesh at the invitation of the Iraqi government,” he tweeted, using the Arabic acronym IS. “These terrorist attacks are undermining the fight against Daesh and destabilizing Iraq.”
Denmark, which, like the United States and Britain, also has troops at the base, said Ain al-Assad coalition forces were helping to provide stability and security to the country.
“The despicable attacks on Ain al-Assad’s base in #Iraq are completely unacceptable,” tweeted Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. The Danish armed forces said two Danes, who were in the field at the time of the attack, were unharmed.
Wednesday’s attack comes two days before Pope Francis plans to visit Iraq on a long-awaited trip that will include Baghdad, southern Iraq and the northern city of Irbil.
Last week’s U.S. strike at the border had been in response to a series of rocket attacks aimed at the U.S. presence, including one that killed a Philippine coalition contractor outside the U.S. Irbil Airport.
Following the attack, the Pentagon said the strike was a “proportional military response” taken after consulting coalition partners.
Marotto said Iraqi security forces were conducting an investigation into the attack on Ain al-Assad.
U.S. troops in Iraq significantly decreased their presence in the country last year under the Trump administration. Forces withdrew from several Iraqis based across the country to consolidate mainly in Ain al-Assad and Baghad.
Frequent rocket attacks on the heavily fortified green zone, home to the U.S. embassy, during President Donald Trump’s tenure thwarted the administration, prompting threats to close the embassy and vague climbers.
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Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.