Ten rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base that hosted US-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the latest in a series of rocket attacks in Iraq just days before the Pope’s scheduled visit to the country.
The rockets hit Ain Al-Asad airbase, northwest of Baghdad, at 7:20 am local time on Wednesday (11:20 pm Tuesday, eastern time). The attack was confirmed in a tweet from Colonel Wayne Marotto, military spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the 83-member coalition to defeat ISIS.
Iraqi security forces are leading the response and investigation, he added.
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General Tahseen al-Khafaji of Iraqi security forces told NBC News that the attack took place at 7:30 am local time (11:30 pm eastern time) and that there were no reported casualties or damage to the base. Security forces are investigating who is behind the attack, he added.
Wednesday’s rocket attack follows a U.S. air strike last week in eastern Syria that killed an Iranian-backed militia fighter and wounded two others, according to the Pentagon.
This operation was the first known use of military force by the Biden government and was carried out in retaliation for a deadly rocket attack on a US-led coalition base in Irbil, northern Kurdish Iraq, last month, in addition to two other attacks. .
The February 15 rocket attack in Irbil was the deadliest attack to strike U.S.-led forces in the country for nearly a year, and it echoed another attack in December 2019 that triggered a dangerous escalation between Iran and the United States. United.
The latest attack could fuel fears of a repeat of the escalation in the same currency as last year, which culminated in the assassination by the US of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last January.
Iran retaliated less than a week later, firing missiles at American troops in Iraq, injuring dozens of American military personnel who suffered traumatic brain injuries. The Ain al-Asad airbase was one of two bases targeted by Iran.
NBC News had previously reported that Iran-supported militias were probably behind the Irbil rocket attack in February, and that the weapons and tactics resembled previous attacks by Iran-linked militias. However, it is not clear whether Iran encouraged or ordered rocket attack.
After the attack on the Irbil base last month, the Iraqi airbase at Balad was the target of rocket fire days later, where a US defense company provided services to the country’s fighters, and two rockets landed near the US Embassy complex. USA in Baghdad.
The last rocket attack occurs two days before Pope Francis travels to Iraq, on what would be the first papal visit to the country in the Middle East.
Francis intended to visit Iraq in 2014, as well as St. John Paul II in 2000, but both had to cancel their travels due to security concerns, according to The Associated Press.
During his trip, from Friday to Monday, Pope Francis will visit Baghdad, the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf and the city of Irbil in the north, among other destinations.
He must meet Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of millions of Shiite Muslims, in what is believed to be the first meeting between a pope and a large Iraqi ayatollah.
Speaking on Wednesday, at the end of his general audience, Francisco asked for prayers that his visit to Iraq will continue “in the best possible way”.
“The Iraqi people are waiting for us, they waited for Saint Pope John Paul II, their visit was not allowed,” he said, according to a Reuters translation. “The people cannot be disappointed a second time.
He made no mention of the deteriorating security situation in the country, according to the news.
