US to retaliate against Iranian attacks on US forces in Iraq
The Ain Al-Asad air base in western Iraq. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The White House declared on Sunday that the US is taking the attack over the weekend on a facility in Iraq that is home to US personnel, which was carried out by Iran, ‘extremely seriously.’
The US military reported late on Saturday that militants supported by Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at the Ain Al-Asad air base in western Iraq, perhaps injuring one Iraqi and maybe one American.
The White House Deputy National Security Advisor, Jon Finer, said on Sunday that the attack constituted a real danger as the strike was extremely serious.
According to Finer and the Pentagon, air defense systems intercepted most of the missiles launched at the base.
Multiple attacks have targeted US forces, who are fighting ISIS terrorists, in Iraq and Syria since mid-October following the outbreak of the war between Hamas and Israel.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an informal group of militants with ties to Iran, claimed responsibility for many of the attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria.
The use of ballistic missiles in these strikes represents an escalation in the regional unrest, as attacks were formerly conducted using drones and less sophisticated rockets.