ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in the early hours of Thursday reported that a 122mm rocket had targeted the Ain al-Asad airbase, which houses coalition troops in western Iraq’s Anbar province, without resulting in any injuries or damage.
US interests in Iraq and Syria have come under a series of rocket and drone attacks since October 17, by Iran-aligned militia groups condemning the American government’s support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.
US forces located the rocket’s point of origin, which struck the base on Wednesday morning, and informed Iraqi security forces who “seized a flatbed truck modified to launch up to 5 x 122mm rockets that was located at the site,” according to a statement from CENTCOM.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on US interests since mid-October. The group has not claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s strike or any other attacks since Sunday.
In a meeting with US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland in Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reiterated his government’s commitment to safeguarding diplomatic missions and coalition bases in the country, while also expressing “strong opposition to any actions taken by any foreign entity on Iraqi territory.”
Nuland also met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil, and the two agreed that Iraqi authorities need to take necessary action to bring an end to the attacks targeting US bases and personnel.
There have been at least 92 attacks targeting US interests in Iraq and Syria since October 17, Pentagon Spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said on December 12, stressing that the strikes “have largely been unsuccessful.”
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 2019.
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