- The rocket strike comes as US and Israel brace for an Iranian reprisal
BAGHDAD (Agencies): Several American soldiers have sustained injuries in a rocket attack on Ayn Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq, Reuters has reported, citing US officials. No one has claimed responsibility for the strike.
Two explosions were heard at Al-Asad, located west of Baghdad, local media reported on Monday evening, citing eyewitnesses. According to these reports, the US forces engaged the incoming missiles with C-RAM air defenses.
Reports of casualties came from three anonymous US officials who spoke with Reuters.
According to one report, a launcher for Arash-1 missiles was discovered near the US base after the barrage. The Arash is an Iranian copy of the Soviet-designed BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were already in the White House Situation Room when the rocket attack happened, according to American media. Both the US and Israel have been expecting a strike by Iran, in reprisal for last week’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed Haniyeh.
In April, Tehran fired a salvo of missiles and drones at Israel, following an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed several high-ranking officers. The Iranian government has once again claimed the legal right to retaliate, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter, and has reportedly warned Israel of the impending attack via Hungary.
Al-Asad has come under sporadic fire by Iraqi Shia militias in the past. It was also attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles in January 2020, following the American drone assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
While the US initially said the attack only caused property damage, it was later confirmed that dozens of troops at the base sustained “traumatic brain injuries,” or concussions.