BAGHDAD (AP) – On Wednesday, at least 10 rockets hit a base that housed the United States and other coalition troops in western Iraq, military officials said. It is not known if there were any casualties, but the Iraqi military said there were no significant losses.
It was the first such attack since the U.S. hit militia targets aligned with Iran along the Iraq-Syria border last week, killing a militiaman and fueling fears of another cycle of attacks in the same currency, as it did last year. These attacks culminated in the US drone attack that killed Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad.
No one took responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, which takes place two days before the scheduled date for Pope Francis’ visit to the country amid concerns about security and the coronavirus pandemic.. The long-awaited trip will include stops in Baghdad, in southern Iraq and in the city of Irbil, in the north of the country.
The rockets hit Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province early in the morning, said US-led coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto. In addition to American, Danish and British troops are among those stationed at the base. It is the same base that Iran hit with a flurry of missiles in January last year in retaliation for the death of Soleimani. Dozens of American military personnel suffered concussions during the attack.
The Iraqi military issued a statement saying that Wednesday’s attack did not cause significant losses and that security forces found the launch pad used for the rockets – a truck. The video on the website shows a truck on fire in a deserted area.
British ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hickey condemned the attack, saying it undermines the ongoing struggle against the Islamic State group. “Coalition forces are in Iraq to fight Daesh at the invitation of the Iraqi government,” he tweeted, using the Arabic acronym for IS. “These terrorist attacks undermine the fight against Daesh and destabilize Iraq.”
Denmark said coalition forces at the base are helping to bring stability and security to the country.
“Despicable attacks on Ain al-Asad’s base in #Iraq are completely unacceptable,” tweeted Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. The Danish Armed Forces said that two Danes who were at the base at the time of the attack are unharmed.
The US attack last week along the border was in response to a wave of rocket attacks aimed at the American presence, including one that killed a Philippine coalition contractor outside Irbil airport.
After that attack, the Pentagon said the attack was a “proportional military response”.
Marotto, the coalition spokesman, said Iraqi security forces were conducting an investigation into the attack.
During Donald Trump’s presidency, frequent rocket attacks aimed at the heavily fortified Green Zone, which is home to the U.S. Embassy, frustrated the administration, leading to threats of embassy closure and staggered attacks. These attacks have increased again in recent weeks, since President Joe Biden took office after a lull during the transition period.
American troops in Iraq significantly decreased their presence in the country last year and withdrew from several Iraqi bases to consolidate themselves mainly in Ain al-Asad, Baghdad and Irbil.
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Associated Press editor Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this report.