14 Rockets Hit Iraqi Air Base, Two US Soldiers Injured

The impact of the attack on the US military headquarters at Ain al-Asad Air Base, Iraq in 2020. (Wikimedia Commons/Spc. Derek Mustard)

JAKARTA - At least 14 rockets hit Iraq's Ain al-Asad Air Base housing the US and other international forces on Wednesday, July 7 local time, marking the third consecutive day of attacks on the US-led coalition of international forces.

"Two personnel sustained minor injuries. Damage is still being assessed. More details will be provided as they become available", Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the international coalition forces (OIR) said on Twitter.

He initially put the number of injuries at three. The rockets landed on the base and its perimeter, he wrote on Twitter.

Cited from Reuters, neither party claimed direct responsibility for the attacks, part of a recent wave of targeting US troops or areas where they operate in Iraq and Syria, both countries where Iran-backed militias hold sway.

Iraqi military sources said a rocket launcher mounted on the back of a truck was used in this attack and was found on a nearby burnt farm.

An Iraqi militia group allied with Iran vowed to retaliate after a US airstrike last month on the Iraq-Syria border killed four of their members.

The impact of the attack on the US military base at Ain al-Asad Air Base, Iraq in 2020. (Wikimedia Commons/The Divers)

In Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said no damage was done by a drone strike on the Al Omar oil field in eastern Syria, an area bordering Iraq where US troops were under rocket fire but escaped injury on 28 June. There was no immediate comment from the US military on the Syrian attack.

The United States told the UN Security Council last week it was targeting Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq with airstrikes to prevent the militants and Tehran from carrying out or supporting further attacks on US troops or facilities.

Meanwhile, Iran denies US accusations that it supports attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria while condemning US airstrikes against Iran-backed militants there.

Iraqi military officials say the recent pace of attacks on US bases with explosive-laden rockets and drones is unprecedented.

Earlier, a drone struck Erbil airport in northern Iraq, targeting a US base on the airport grounds on Tuesday 6 July, Kurdish security sources said. Three rockets also landed in Ain al-Asad on Monday without causing any casualties.

To note, the United States has held indirect talks with Iran aimed at bringing the two countries back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by former President Donald Trump. No date has yet been set for the next round of talks, having been postponed to June 20.

Update: 100 % accountability at Ain Al-Assad Air Base after rocket attack. Two personnel sustained minor injuries. Damage still be assessed. More details will be provided when become available.

— OIR Spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto (@OIRSpox) July 7, 2021