[ad_1]
Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve, tweeted that the air base was attacked by 14 rockets which landed on the “base and perimeter” and that “two personnel suffered minor injuries “. He told CNN he did not have information on the nationality of those injured, but said “more details will be provided when they are available.”
Damage from the attack is still being assessed at the air base, which is one of the largest and oldest military bases in the country.
Sharhabil al-Obaidi, the mayor of al-Baghdadi in Anbar province, told CNN that the coalition responded to the source of the launch and struck a vehicle from which the rockets were launched near the town al-Baghdadi. Al-Obaidi said several rockets hit Iraqi army posts inside the air base, but could not provide more details.
Security officials in the city of al-Baghdadi told CNN that a house near the launcher was damaged in the coalition airstrike, but no casualties were reported.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said at the time that “the targets were selected because these facilities are used by Iranian-backed militias who are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle attacks ( UAV) against US personnel and facilities in Iraq. Specifically, the US strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two sites in Syria and one site in Iraq, both located near the border between those countries. . “
“As tonight’s strikes demonstrated, President Biden has made it clear that he will act to protect US personnel. Given the series of ongoing attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting US interests in Iraq, the president has ordered further military action to disrupt and deter these attacks, â€Kirby said in a press release.
At least four Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria were killed in the airstrikes, the Iraqi militia said in a statement.
[ad_2]
