Air strike prevents attack on US base in Iraq
Iraqi Air Force helicopters land at Ain Al-Asad base in western Iraq in December 2019. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Two sources in the Iraqi army said that a US air strike targeted a missile launcher late on Monday, preventing an attack on the Ain Al-Asad air base, which houses US and international forces in western Iraq.
Iraqi military sources said that a rocket launcher was mounted on top of a small truck parked in a rural area about seven kilometers east of the base, with at least two missiles prepared to be launched toward the base, according to Sky News Arabia.
An army official said that the US air strike destroyed the missile launcher.
There are 900 US soldiers in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, where the United States says their mission is to provide advice and assistance to local forces trying to prevent the return of ISIS, which took control of large areas of the two countries in 2014 but was defeated in 2017.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 100 times using missiles and drones since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7.
Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria oppose the Israeli campaign in Gaza and blame the United States for supporting the Israel.