Rockets fired into Iraq struck a US airbase housing American troops, reports Monday claimed.
According to media sources, several US personnel were injured when two rockets hit the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.
Fox News reports:
A U.S. defense official confirmed the suspected rocket attack to Fox News on Monday afternoon. According to Reuters, at least two Katyusha rockets were fired towards the base.
Speaking to Fox News, the official said that “several” U.S. personnel were injured during the incident.
“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” the official added. “We will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
It’s unclear how many soldiers were injured in the attack, or who exactly was responsible.
While a source told Reuters the rockets fell inside the base, another source told Iraqi media outlet Rudaw English “that the target appeared to be Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, but the initial rockets failed to hit the site.”
The source also told Rudaw the rockets had been “launched from the industrial subdistrict of al-Haqlaniyah in Haditha district,” and that police had located “an abandoned vehicle suspected to be used to launch the attack.”
The attack comes as the Israel-Gaza conflict has continued to escalate, as Iran has vowed to retaliate for the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran, which it blames on Israel, raising fears of an impending World War III.