Rocket Op. Targets US-Occupied Base in Iraq, Several American Personnel Injured

By Staff, Agencies

A rocket operation has struck the United States-occupied Ain Al-Assad Airbase in the western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar, injuring several American personnel.

"Rockets were launched at Ain al-Assad base," AFP reported, citing a military source regarding the Monday attack. Some of the projectiles "fell inside the base," the source added.

At least three explosions were heard at the base, likely due to rocket fire and drone strikes, according to Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network. CNN, meanwhile, cited an American official confirming the casualties.

“Initial indications are that several US personnel were injured. Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” the official said.

No person or group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

The operation occurred less than a week after an American strike killed four members of Iraq’s anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], an umbrella organization composed of the country’s resistance groups.

It also comes amid outrage from resistance groups at the US's unwavering political, military and intelligence support for the “Israeli” entity's ongoing war of genocide against the Gaza Strip, which has martyred more than 39,600 people.

Iraqi groups have been pressing for an end to the presence of foreign forces in Iraq more than a decade after a US-led coalition invaded the country in blatant violation of international law based on false claims of it possessing weapons of mass destruction.

There are nearly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of what Washington claims to be a fighting force against the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”].

The US has maintained its presence, although the Arab countries and their allies defeated the Takfiri terrorist group in late 2017.

In 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of expelling foreign forces after a US drone strike assassinated Iran's top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani and the PMU’s deputy commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis outside Baghdad International Airport.