“At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“A number of U.S. personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. At least one Iraqi service member was wounded,” it added, but said that further assessments are ongoing.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in a statement published on Telegram. The group has been responsible for much of the attacks on US interests.
The attack also signified an escalation against US forces with the use of ballistic missiles, as previous attacks had been carried out with rockets and drones.
“Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems while others impacted on the base,” CENTCOM said.
American troops and bases in Iraq and Syria have come under about 140 rocket and drone attacks since mid-October by Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups condemning Washington’s support for Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday.
The US has responded on several occasions, sparking an outcry from the Iraqi government and calls from hardline Iraqi politicians to expel the coalition forces from the country.
On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reiterated that the withdrawal of the US-led coalition is “necessary” for the security and stability of Iraq and “to maintain constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and global coalition countries.”
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared territorially defeated in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
