5 US Personnel Injured In Attack On Al Asad Iraq Military Base

US/ILUSTRASI military/PHOTO via Instagram @usnavy

JAKARTA - Five US military personnel were injured in an attack on a military base in Iraq.

Two Katyusha rockets were fired at the al Asad airbase in western Iraq, two Iraqi security sources told Reuters on Tuesday, August 6.

One Iraqi security source said the rockets fell inside the base. It is unclear whether the attack was linked to Iran's threat to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leaders.

US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said one of the Americans injured was seriously injured. The death toll is based on reports that could still change.

"The base personnel are conducting an assessment of the post-attack damage," said one official.

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, was killed in Iran's capital, Tehran last week, an attack that sparked the threat of Iranian revenge against Israel.

Iran blamed Israel for the killings, but Israel has not yet claimed responsibility.

Coupled with the killing of the senior military commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in an attack in Beirut last week, the killings have sparked fears the conflict in Gaza will turn into a broader Middle East war.

Iran says the US is responsible for Haniyeh's murder because of his support for Israel.

In a telephone conversation on Monday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agreed the attack marked a dangerous escalation, according to the Pentagon.

Last week the US carried out attacks on people who US officials said were militants preparing to launch drones and pose a threat to the US and coalition forces.

The US has been watching to see if Iran will keep its promise to respond to Haniyeh's murder two days ago in Tehran, one of a series of killings of senior Palestinian militant groups when the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.

The Pentagon said it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, as Washington's efforts to increase defense followed threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.

As a rare ally of the US and Iran, Iraq has hosted 2,500 US troops and has Iranian-backed militias linked to its security forces. The country has seen an increase in retaliatory attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.