US Military Base in Iraq under Rocket Attack

On Tuesday, two Katiusha-type rockets struck inside the Ain al Asad airbase, where U.S. military and contractors are stationed. This is the third consecutive attack of the same style in three days against U.S. targets in Iraq.

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This airbase is still home to about 2,000 U.S. military personnel who were deployed for advisory and training duties for Iraqi forces.

Today's attack came shortly after Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al Kazemi met in Baghdad with a U.S. delegation to discuss issues related to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from his country.

Present at the meeting were also U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East Joey Hood, and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk.

In the last year, rocket attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq have been recurrent, especially after Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed by a bombing planned from Washington in January 2020.

On Sunday, rockets also fell on the military section of Baghdad's international airport and on Al Balad airbase, where the headquarters of a U.S. F-16 fighter maintenance company is located. 

Although these actions are not usually claimed by any group, Washington attributes them to Iraqi militias demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops.