Military vehicles of U.S. soldiers are seen at al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2020. Portal/John Davison/File Photo Acquire License Rights
ANBAR, Iraq, Oct 19 (Portal) – Drones and missiles targeted the Ain al-Asad air base, home to U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq, on Thursday evening. Multiple explosions were heard inside the base, two security sources said.
The Iraqi military said it had cordoned off the area around the base and launched a search operation. It is not yet clear whether the attacks caused casualties or damage, the sources said.
Rockets hit another US military base near Baghdad’s international airport, Iraqi police said on Thursday, without giving further details.
In the last 24 hours there were four attacks on Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed in Iraq.
US forces in Iraq were attacked by two drone strikes on Wednesday, one of which slightly injured a small number of soldiers, although the US military managed to intercept the armed drone.
Last week, Iraqi armed groups allied with Iran threatened to attack U.S. interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervened to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
The United States has deployed 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in neighboring Syria to advise and assist local forces in fighting the Islamic State, which seized large areas of territory in both countries in 2014.
The Ain al-Asad air base is located in the western province of Anbar.
Reporting by Kamal Ayash; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama, Daniel Wallis and Lincoln Feast.
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